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COVID-19 Release Information

This release was compiled during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Information Notice - Production in Building and Construction Index Q2 2021.

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Production in Building and Construction Index

Quarter 2 2021 (Provisional) Quarter 1 2021 (Final)

Seasonally Adjusted Production in Building and Construction Index
(Base Year 2015=100)
 Volume Index Value Index
Q2 202092.9 104.9
Q1 2021108.9 116.6
Q2 2021117.3 140.9
Quarterly % change7.7 20.8
Annual % change26.3 34.3

Building and Construction Output up 7.7% in 2nd Quarter of 2021

Figure 1: Seasonally Adjusted Volume of Production for Building and Construction Indices
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The volume of production in construction increased by 7.7% in Quarter 2 2021 compared to Quarter 1 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an annual basis, volume rose by 26.3% in Quarter 2 2021.

Non-essential construction sites were closed in early Quarter 1 2021 and reopened in a phased manner in Quarter 2 2021. This should be kept in mind while interpreting the quarterly sectoral changes. The Residential sector showed the largest quarterly increase with a rise of 52.6% in the seasonally adjusted volume index while the Civil Engineering sector increased by 30.6%. The Non-Residential sector increased by 2.2%.

In Quarter 2 2020 non-essential construction sites remained closed until mid-May, while similarly in Quarter 2 2021 there was a phased reopening of non-essential construction sites. This should be noted when considering the year-on-year changes. The Civil Engineering sector saw a volume increase of 85.0% in the seasonally adjusted index. The Residential and Non-Residential sectors also increased annually by 43.6% and 19.1% respectively.

The seasonally adjusted value index for construction increased by 20.8% on a quarterly basis and by 34.3% on an annual basis. It should be noted that the deflator (i.e. the Capital Goods price index) used in the calculation of the Production in Building and Construction Index has seen increases in recent months. See background notes and the Wholesale Price Index release for more details.

Further information on seasonal adjustment is available in the CSO's video on Seasonal Adjustment. See Tables 1a, 1c, 2a & 2b and Figures 1 & 2.

X-axis labelQ2 2020Q3 2020Q4 2020Q1 2021Q2 2021
All Building
and Construction		92.9133.2144.7108.9117.3
Building (excluding
Civil Engineering)		106.5142.3145.2109.3129.8
Residential Building81.4127.413176.6116.9
Non-Residential
Building		103.1146.1152.1120.1122.8
Civil Engineering61.297109.486.7113.2
Table 1(a) Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in all Building and Construction1
       Base Year: 2015=100
  Value of Production Volume of Production
Period Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change
2009 132.6 -37.7 135.4 -36.8
2010 93.9 -29.2 94.9 -29.9
2011 76.0 -19.0 78.7 -17.1
2012 74.9 -1.5 76.9 -2.3
2013 83.8 12.0 85.5 11.2
2014 91.9 9.6 92.8 8.5
2015 100.3 9.1 100.3 8.1
2016 110.0 9.7 109.7 9.4
2017 126.4 14.9 124.1 13.2
2018 144.9 14.6 136.9 10.3
2019 156.4 8.0 144.6 5.7
2020 144.2 -7.8 132.3 -8.5
         
20091st quarter157.3-10.5-36.4 159.0-9.5-36.5
 2nd quarter138.1-12.2-39.0 141.3-11.1-37.6
 3rd quarter126.0-8.8-37.6 129.6-8.3-36.5
 4th quarter109.1-13.4-37.9 111.6-13.9-36.5
         
20101st quarter101.2-7.2-35.7 103.0-7.7-35.2
 2nd quarter98.2-3.0-28.9 98.9-4.0-30.0
 3rd quarter90.7-7.6-28.0 91.2-7.8-29.6
 4th quarter85.5-5.7-21.6 86.3-5.4-22.7
         
20111st quarter76.9-10.1-24.0 78.5-9.0-23.8
 2nd quarter74.1-3.6-24.5 77.4-1.4-21.7
 3rd quarter76.33.0-15.9 79.12.2-13.3
 4th quarter76.80.7-10.2 79.60.6-7.8
         
20121st quarter76.80.0-0.1 79.2-0.50.9
 2nd quarter71.7-6.6-3.2 73.4-7.3-5.2
 3rd quarter72.91.7-4.5 74.61.6-5.7
 4th quarter78.17.11.7 80.27.50.8
         
20131st quarter78.80.92.6 80.80.72.0
 2nd quarter81.02.813.0 82.21.712.0
 3rd quarter87.88.420.4 89.58.920.0
 4th quarter87.7-0.112.3 89.4-0.111.5
         
20141st quarter87.0-0.810.4 87.7-1.98.5
 2nd quarter92.76.614.4 94.17.314.5
 3rd quarter93.81.26.8 94.50.45.6
 4th quarter94.00.27.2 94.80.36.0
         
20151st quarter102.28.717.5 101.87.416.1
 2nd quarter102.30.110.4 102.10.38.5
 3rd quarter96.2-6.02.6 96.4-5.62.0
 4th quarter100.34.36.7 100.74.56.2
         
20161st quarter102.42.10.2 101.71.0-0.1
 2nd quarter109.46.86.9 109.07.26.8
 3rd quarter114.14.318.6 114.24.818.5
 4th quarter114.10.013.8 113.7-0.412.9
         
20171st quarter126.711.023.7 122.47.720.4
 2nd quarter122.1-3.611.6 121.4-0.811.4
 3rd quarter124.72.19.3 122.71.17.4
 4th quarter131.95.815.6 129.95.914.2
         
20181st quarter138.14.79.0 134.33.49.7
 2nd quarter143.03.517.1 133.5-0.610.0
 3rd quarter147.43.118.2 137.32.811.9
 4th quarter150.92.414.4 142.33.69.5
         
20191st quarter151.90.710.0 140.7-1.14.8
 2nd quarter152.30.36.5 139.9-0.64.8
 3rd quarter157.53.46.9 144.93.65.5
 4th quarter164.04.18.7 153.05.67.5
         
20201st quarter171.04.312.6 158.53.612.7
 2nd quarter104.9-38.7-31.1 92.9-41.4-33.6
 3rd quarter147.440.5-6.4 133.243.4-8.1
 4th quarter153.44.1-6.5 144.78.6-5.4
         
20211st quarter116.6-24.0-31.8 108.9-24.7-31.3
 2nd quarter2140.920.834.3 117.37.726.3
1Based on Seasonal Patterns up to Quarter 2, 2021
2Provisional
Open in Excel: Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 2 2021 Table 1a (XLS 14KB)
upArrowHide Table
Table 1(b) Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in Building (Excluding Civil Engineering)1
       Base Year: 2015=100
  Value of Production Volume of Production
Period Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change  Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change
2009 131.2 -44.8 134.0 -44.1
2010 88.2 -32.8 89.1 -33.5
2011 74.5 -15.6 77.1 -13.5
2012 66.8 -10.3 68.5 -11.1
2013 77.1 15.5 78.6 14.7
2014 86.8 12.6 87.5 11.4
2015 100.1 15.3 100.1 14.4
2016 111.5 11.3 111.1 11.0
2017 130.2 16.8 127.9 15.2
2018 149.0 14.5 140.8 10.0
2019 163.9 10.0 151.3 7.5
2020 153.2 -6.5 139.1 -8.1
         
20091st quarter161.9-14.2-43.5 164.4-12.8-43.0
 2nd quarter140.1-13.5-45.0 142.9-13.1-44.5
 3rd quarter119.5-14.7-46.0 123.0-13.9-44.9
 4th quarter103.3-13.6-45.3 105.5-14.2-44.1
         
20101st quarter93.2-9.8-42.4 94.5-10.4-42.5
 2nd quarter87.1-6.5-37.8 88.1-6.8-38.3
 3rd quarter88.61.7-25.9 89.31.4-27.4
 4th quarter84.0-5.2-18.7 84.5-5.4-19.9
         
20111st quarter76.7-8.7-17.7 78.9-6.6-16.5
 2nd quarter75.0-2.2-13.9 77.6-1.6-11.9
 3rd quarter72.8-2.9-17.8 75.8-2.3-15.1
 4th quarter73.30.7-12.7 76.00.3-10.1
         
20121st quarter70.2-4.2-8.5 72.4-4.7-8.2
 2nd quarter65.9-6.1-12.1 67.5-6.8-13.0
 3rd quarter65.3-0.9-10.3 67.0-0.7-11.6
 4th quarter65.60.5-10.5 67.20.3-11.6
         
20131st quarter71.08.21.1 72.27.4-0.3
 2nd quarter73.94.112.1 75.64.712.0
 3rd quarter79.88.022.2 81.37.521.3
 4th quarter83.74.927.6 85.24.826.8
         
20141st quarter81.7-2.415.1 83.2-2.315.2
 2nd quarter84.53.414.3 85.12.312.6
 3rd quarter88.34.510.7 88.84.39.2
 4th quarter92.75.010.8 92.94.69.0
         
20151st quarter99.97.822.3 100.07.620.2
 2nd quarter102.72.821.5 102.92.920.9
 3rd quarter97.0-5.69.9 96.9-5.89.1
 4th quarter100.83.98.7 100.53.78.2
         
20161st quarter102.61.82.7 102.52.02.5
 2nd quarter110.17.37.2 110.57.87.4
 3rd quarter116.55.820.1 116.25.219.9
 4th quarter116.60.115.7 115.1-0.914.5
         
20171st quarter128.19.924.9 126.810.223.7
 2nd quarter128.30.216.5 126.5-0.214.5
 3rd quarter128.2-0.110.0 126.2-0.28.6
 4th quarter136.06.116.6 132.24.814.9
         
20181st quarter142.14.510.9 137.33.98.3
 2nd quarter148.34.415.6 141.93.412.2
 3rd quarter150.91.817.7 141.6-0.212.2
 4th quarter154.72.513.7 142.30.57.6
         
20191st quarter157.71.911.0 144.21.35.0
 2nd quarter155.7-1.35.0 149.23.55.1
 3rd quarter165.16.09.4 154.13.38.8
 4th quarter177.07.214.4 157.82.410.9
         
20201st quarter183.13.416.1 162.53.012.7
 2nd quarter109.9-40.0-29.4 106.5-34.5-28.6
 3rd quarter154.840.9-6.2 142.333.6-7.7
 4th quarter165.16.7-6.7 145.22.0-8.0
         
20211st quarter125.4-24.0-31.5 109.3-24.7-32.7
 2nd quarter2136.28.623.9 129.818.821.9
1Based on Seasonal Patterns up to Quarter 2, 2021
2Provisional
Open in Excel: Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 2 2021 Table 1b (XLS 15KB)
upArrowHide Table
Table 1(c) Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in Building in Civil Engineering1
       Base Year: 2015=100
  Value of Production Volume of Production
Period Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change  Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change
2009 136.7 -14.0 139.6 -12.8
2010 107.4 -21.4 108.5 -22.3
2011 79.7 -25.8 82.5 -23.9
2012 93.7 17.6 96.2 16.6
2013 99.2 5.9 100.9 4.9
2014 103.5 4.3 104.2 3.3
2015 100.5 -2.9 100.3 -3.7
2016 103.4 2.9 103.0 2.7
2017 108.5 5.0 106.7 3.6
2018 125.4 15.6 118.5 11.1
2019 122.4 -2.4 113.2 -4.5
2020 105.5 -13.8 96.3 -14.9
         
20091st quarter147.02.0-10.6 148.51.6-10.8
 2nd quarter141.9-3.5-16.7 144.4-2.8-15.3
 3rd quarter136.2-4.0-13.4 139.1-3.7-11.5
 4th quarter121.7-10.6-15.5 126.3-9.2-13.6
         
20101st quarter121.2-0.4-17.6 121.9-3.5-17.9
 2nd quarter127.35.0-10.3 128.15.1-11.3
 3rd quarter91.0-28.5-33.2 91.1-28.9-34.5
 4th quarter90.1-1.0-26.0 92.71.8-26.6
         
20111st quarter76.8-14.8-36.6 77.2-16.7-36.7
 2nd quarter74.8-2.6-41.2 77.80.8-39.3
 3rd quarter80.47.5-11.6 83.16.8-8.8
 4th quarter86.88.0-3.7 91.910.6-0.9
         
20121st quarter92.86.920.8 93.51.721.1
 2nd quarter84.9-8.513.5 87.3-6.612.2
 3rd quarter87.73.39.1 89.32.37.5
 4th quarter109.524.926.2 114.628.324.7
         
20131st quarter98.0-10.55.6 97.5-14.94.3
 2nd quarter95.6-2.412.6 98.20.712.5
 3rd quarter104.39.118.9 105.87.718.5
 4th quarter99.0-5.1-9.6 102.1-3.5-10.9
         
20141st quarter97.2-1.8-0.8 96.5-5.5-1.0
 2nd quarter113.216.518.4 115.319.517.4
 3rd quarter105.4-6.91.1 105.7-8.3-0.1
 4th quarter98.2-6.8-0.8 99.3-6.1-2.7
         
20151st quarter105.06.98.0 103.84.57.6
 2nd quarter104.8-0.2-7.4 105.61.7-8.4
 3rd quarter94.0-10.3-10.8 93.8-11.2-11.3
 4th quarter98.14.4-0.1 98.04.5-1.3
         
20161st quarter96.1-2.0-8.5 95.6-2.4-7.9
 2nd quarter107.411.82.5 107.912.92.2
 3rd quarter106.7-0.713.5 106.3-1.513.3
 4th quarter103.2-3.35.2 102.1-4.04.2
         
20171st quarter105.42.19.7 103.71.68.5
 2nd quarter101.3-3.9-5.7 100.3-3.3-7.0
 3rd quarter111.510.14.5 109.49.12.9
 4th quarter115.73.812.1 113.23.510.9
         
20181st quarter119.73.513.6 116.52.912.3
 2nd quarter110.6-7.69.2 104.2-10.63.9
 3rd quarter131.318.717.8 122.717.812.2
 4th quarter140.16.721.1 130.66.415.4
         
20191st quarter123.2-12.12.9 113.8-12.9-2.3
 2nd quarter129.75.317.3 121.16.416.2
 3rd quarter117.7-9.3-10.4 109.2-9.8-11.0
 4th quarter119.01.1-15.1 108.5-0.6-16.9
         
20201st quarter129.08.44.7 117.48.23.2
 2nd quarter66.5-48.4-48.7 61.2-47.9-49.5
 3rd quarter106.159.5-9.9 97.058.5-11.2
 4th quarter120.213.31.0 109.412.80.8
         
20211st quarter95.7-20.4-25.8 86.7-20.7-26.1
 2nd quarter2127.833.592.2 113.230.685.0
1Based on Seasonal Patterns up to Quarter 2, 2021
2Provisional
Open in Excel: Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 2 2021 Table 1c (XLS 13KB)
upArrowHide Table
Table 2(a) Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in Residential Building1
       Base Year: 2015=100
  Value of Production Volume of Production
Period Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change
2009 146.9 -58.6 150.1 -58.0
2010 92.3 -37.1 93.3 -37.8
2011 65.7 -28.9 68.0 -27.1
2012 58.1 -11.5 59.7 -12.2
2013 64.8 11.4 66.0 10.6
2014 76.5 18.2 77.2 16.9
2015 100.2 30.9 100.2 29.8
2016 124.1 23.9 123.6 23.4
2017 146.1 17.8 143.5 16.1
2018 150.6 3.0 142.3 -0.9
2019 173.5 15.2 160.2 12.6
2020 138.1 -20.4 125.8 -21.4
         
20091st quarter196.0-18.9-57.4 200.0-17.8-57.2
 2nd quarter155.0-20.9-60.4 159.2-20.4-59.8
 3rd quarter127.3-17.9-61.0 129.0-19.0-60.1
 4th quarter109.2-14.2-54.8 112.1-13.1-53.9
         
20101st quarter97.6-10.6-50.2 99.7-11.1-50.2
 2nd quarter95.3-2.4-38.5 96.5-3.2-39.4
 3rd quarter93.2-2.2-26.8 92.9-3.7-28.0
 4th quarter83.2-10.7-23.8 84.1-9.5-25.0
         
20111st quarter73.0-12.3-25.2 75.1-10.7-24.7
 2nd quarter64.1-12.2-32.7 66.7-11.2-30.9
 3rd quarter61.3-4.4-34.2 63.4-4.9-31.8
 4th quarter64.34.9-22.7 66.95.5-20.5
         
20121st quarter62.0-3.6-15.1 64.0-4.3-14.8
 2nd quarter57.4-7.4-10.5 58.8-8.1-11.8
 3rd quarter58.01.0-5.4 59.30.9-6.5
 4th quarter55.1-5.0-14.3 56.7-4.4-15.2
         
20131st quarter67.222.08.4 68.621.07.2
 2nd quarter64.2-4.511.8 65.4-4.711.2
 3rd quarter62.9-2.08.4 64.1-2.08.1
 4th quarter64.72.917.4 65.92.816.2
         
20141st quarter64.4-0.5-4.2 65.3-0.9-4.8
 2nd quarter70.59.59.8 71.39.29.0
 3rd quarter79.813.226.9 80.212.525.1
 4th quarter91.414.541.3 91.814.539.3
         
20151st quarter98.17.352.3 98.27.050.4
 2nd quarter101.63.644.1 101.73.642.6
 3rd quarter100.7-0.926.2 100.6-1.125.4
 4th quarter100.2-0.59.6 100.1-0.59.0
         
20161st quarter114.314.116.5 114.314.216.4
 2nd quarter129.813.627.8 129.813.627.6
 3rd quarter124.3-4.223.4 123.8-4.623.1
 4th quarter127.82.827.5 126.62.326.5
         
20171st quarter133.74.617.0 131.53.915.0
 2nd quarter141.25.68.8 139.66.27.6
 3rd quarter156.610.926.0 153.710.124.2
 4th quarter152.9-2.419.6 149.3-2.917.9
         
20181st quarter152.4-0.314.0 148.3-0.712.8
 2nd quarter152.0-0.37.6 143.7-3.12.9
 3rd quarter147.9-2.7-5.6 138.1-3.9-10.1
 4th quarter149.91.4-2.0 139.00.7-6.9
         
20191st quarter160.67.15.4 148.56.80.1
 2nd quarter168.95.211.1 158.86.910.5
 3rd quarter175.33.818.5 162.42.317.6
 4th quarter189.07.826.1 171.05.323.0
         
20201st quarter179.7-4.911.9 163.5-4.410.1
 2nd quarter87.3-51.4-48.3 81.4-50.2-48.7
 3rd quarter139.860.1-20.3 127.456.5-21.6
 4th quarter145.44.0-23.1 131.02.8-23.4
         
20211st quarter84.7-41.7-52.9 76.6-41.5-53.1
 2nd quarter2130.153.649.0 116.952.643.6
1Based on Seasonal Patterns up to Quarter 2, 2021
2Provisional
Open in Excel: Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 2 2021 Table 2a (XLS 14KB)
upArrowHide Table
Table 2(b) Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in Non-Residential Building1
       Base Year: 2015=100
  Value of Production Volume of Production
Period Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change Index% change on previous periodAnnual % change
2009 118.9 -23.2 121.4 -22.0
2010 84.9 -28.6 85.7 -29.4
2011 81.4 -4.1 84.3 -1.6
2012 73.5 -9.8 75.4 -10.5
2013 87.8 19.6 89.5 18.6
2014 94.9 8.0 95.7 7.0
2015 99.9 5.3 100.0 4.4
2016 109.8 9.9 109.4 9.5
2017 127.5 16.2 125.4 14.6
2018 149.1 16.9 140.7 12.2
2019 162.7 9.1 150.3 6.8
2020 154.9 -4.8 141.6 -5.8
         
20091st quarter135.6-11.7-13.6 137.5-10.7-13.4
 2nd quarter124.8-8.0-20.9 127.5-7.3-19.7
 3rd quarter115.1-7.8-23.5 118.3-7.2-21.8
 4th quarter99.9-13.2-34.9 102.1-13.7-33.7
         
20101st quarter88.6-11.3-34.7 89.9-11.9-34.6
 2nd quarter80.9-8.7-35.2 81.8-9.0-35.8
 3rd quarter85.45.6-25.8 86.05.1-27.3
 4th quarter84.6-0.9-15.3 85.0-1.2-16.7
         
20111st quarter82.2-2.8-7.2 84.1-1.1-6.5
 2nd quarter81.8-0.51.1 85.01.13.9
 3rd quarter82.00.2-4.0 85.40.5-0.7
 4th quarter79.6-2.9-5.9 82.6-3.3-2.8
         
20121st quarter78.4-1.5-4.6 80.7-2.3-4.0
 2nd quarter73.4-6.4-10.3 75.2-6.8-11.5
 3rd quarter70.2-4.4-14.4 72.1-4.1-15.6
 4th quarter71.82.3-9.8 73.72.2-10.8
         
20131st quarter75.34.9-4.0 76.84.2-4.8
 2nd quarter83.510.913.8 85.010.713.0
 3rd quarter92.811.132.2 94.611.331.2
 4th quarter99.77.438.9 101.57.337.7
         
20141st quarter97.9-1.830.0 99.4-2.129.4
 2nd quarter93.6-4.412.1 94.2-5.210.8
 3rd quarter93.80.21.1 94.40.2-0.2
 4th quarter94.20.4-5.5 94.90.5-6.5
         
20151st quarter100.66.82.8 100.86.21.4
 2nd quarter104.64.011.8 104.23.410.6
 3rd quarter94.7-9.51.0 94.7-9.10.3
 4th quarter99.65.25.7 100.15.75.5
         
20161st quarter102.02.41.4 101.71.60.9
 2nd quarter109.06.94.2 108.56.74.1
 3rd quarter114.14.720.5 113.64.720.0
 4th quarter113.9-0.214.4 113.80.213.7
         
20171st quarter130.314.427.7 127.812.325.7
 2nd quarter123.5-5.213.3 121.7-4.812.2
 3rd quarter123.2-0.28.0 120.8-0.76.3
 4th quarter133.18.016.9 131.28.615.3
         
20181st quarter139.95.17.4 135.63.46.1
 2nd quarter148.36.020.1 139.52.914.6
 3rd quarter152.73.023.9 142.21.917.7
 4th quarter155.51.816.8 145.52.310.9
         
20191st quarter159.32.413.9 147.31.28.6
 2nd quarter149.6-6.10.9 139.6-5.20.1
 3rd quarter166.411.29.0 153.910.28.2
 4th quarter175.35.312.7 160.54.310.3
         
20201st quarter181.23.413.7 165.02.812.0
 2nd quarter111.6-38.4-25.4 103.1-37.5-26.1
 3rd quarter160.443.7-3.6 146.141.7-5.1
 4th quarter166.23.6-5.2 152.14.1-5.2
         
20211st quarter133.1-19.9-26.5 120.1-21.0-27.2
 2nd quarter2138.54.124.1 122.82.219.1
1Based on Seasonal Patterns up to Quarter 2, 2021
2Provisional
Open in Excel: Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 2 2021 Table 2b (XLS 16KB)
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Background Notes

Production in Building & Construction Index

Introduction of updated series with base year 2015=100

The Production in Building and Construction Index provides quarterly statistics on output in the sector. The index monitors trends in the value and the volume of production in building and construction. The index is primarily intended to function as a short-term indicator. For long term analysis, the annual Building and Construction Inquiry is recommended.

The principal difference between the value and volume indices is that the value index measures changes in the value of work done while the volume index tracks the quantitative volume of production by excluding the effect of price changes using a price deflator. The Capital Goods price index for Building and Construction is used as the price deflator for this series.

This series is also available using the interactive tables in PxStat, the CSO’s Main Data Dissemination Service on www.cso.ie

Reference Periods

The Production in Building and Construction Index is carried out on a quarterly basis (i.e. the first quarter covers January, February and March etc.).

Base Year

The set of indices, based on the Laspeyres Index, has been compiled with reference to base year 2015=100. The underlying structural weighting system for the output categories (Residential Building, Non-Residential Building and Civil Engineering) is based on the annual Building and Construction Inquiry, which provides Building and Civil weights, combined with the new Dwelling Completions data to generate Residential weights. The sample for the index is stratified by size class based on number of persons employed: A (0 – 4), B (5 -19), C (20-99) and D (>99). Size class weights were produced using the Building and Construction Inquiry 2015 and the Quarterly National Household Survey Q2 2015.

Legal Basis

The Quarterly Survey of Construction (QSC) is carried out in accordance with the Statistics (Quarterly Survey of Construction) (No. 2) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 314 of 2021), made under the 1993 Statistics Act. The statistics are also required for EU comparisons under Council Regulation (EC) No. 1165/98 which has been amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1893/2006 with the introduction of NACE Rev. 2.

Scope and Coverage

The Production in Building and Construction Index covers, on a sample basis, the production of all firms in the private (i.e. non-State) sector whose main activity is building, construction or civil engineering i.e. firms classified to division F of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2). Approximately 2,400 firms are surveyed each quarter.

Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonal Adjustment is conducted using the direct seasonal adjustment approach. Under this approach, each individual series is independently adjusted. Each individual seasonally adjusted series is calculated based on working day adjusted data.

The seasonal adjustments are implemented using the X-13-ARIMA methodology. This is applied using the Win X-13 software package, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. This methodology estimates seasonal factors while also taking into consideration factors that impact on the quality of the seasonal adjustment such as outliers and level shifts in the series.

For additional information on the use of X-13-Arima see Monsell B. C., Lytras, D., and Findley, D. ‘Getting Started with X-13 ARIMA SEATS Input Files’, March 2016 available at www.census.gov/srd/www/x13as/.

Methodology

A description of the methodology is available within the Methods area on the CSO website at: 

Production in Building and Construction Index

Comparison with other national series

There are differences (due to timing, definitions and other factors) between the quarterly and annual trends measured by this survey and by other national data sources. In particular the quarterly series from the QSC show considerable volatility. Table A, below, compares the main annual results of the survey with national employment and house building indicators. 

The series shows an increase of 14.9% in the annual volume of production in building and construction between 2017 and 2018. In the same period, employment in the sector, as measured by the Labour Force Survey, rose by 13.8%. 

For residential buildings, the QSC shows an increase of 2.7% in the annual volume of production between 2017 and 2018. The New Dwellings Completions series shows an increase of 25.4% in the same period.

Data on house-building commencements, a relatively new leading indicator, are also included in Table A. This indicator shows an increase of 27.9% in residential building in 2018 when compared with 2017.

Table A: Comparison of Building and Construction sector indicators        
   CSO Series   Other Indicators
  Seasonally Adjusted Volume of Production in Building and Construction3

Seasonally Adjusted Volume of Production in Civil Engineering3

 Seasonally Adjusted Volume of Production in Residential Building3   Persons  Employed in the Construction Sector1 New Dwelling Completions5
 House Commencements2
  Index Index Index   No. No. No.
  2015=100 2015=100 2015=100        
2006 348.0 162.9 818.6   219,100 - 75,602
2007 301.9 170.3 645.5   240,000 - 48,876
2008 214.6 160.1 357.0   214,000 - 22,852
2009 135.5 139.6 150.0   132,800 - 8,599
2010 94.9 108.4 93.3   104,400 - 6,391
2011 78.7 82.5 68.1   86,800 6,994 4,365
2012 76.9 96.1 59.6   81,300 4,911 4,042
2013 85.4 100.9 66.0   86,200 4,575 4,708
20144 92.7 104.2 77.2   90,800 5,518 7,717
2015 100.0 100.0 100.1   109,000 7,219 8,747
2016 110.3 103.5 124.3   119,400 9,916 13,234
2017 126.3
 108.7 146.6   128,000 14,407 17,572
2018 145.1 126.0 150.6   145,700 18,072 22,467
1 Labour Force Survey, April - June quarter, NACE Rev. 2.
2 Source: Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
3 Seasonally Adjusted series introduced in Q1 2015.
4 In 2014 there was a change in the methodology for the Housing data collated by the DHPCLG.  Previously the data was collated from 37 Building Control Areas by the DHPCLG. This was updated in 2014 with the data now being drawn from a database held by the Local Government Management Agency updated directly by developers/ builders on line or by the local authority.
5 New Dwelling Completions series introduced in Q1 2018 with coverage starting in 2011.
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