Like the rest of Finland, construction has started to decline in Finland proper as well. The number of projects under construction is decreasing in all other areas, except for industrial and warehouse construction. However, the Turku region holds its ground as a significant growth center: housing production will remain at a level corresponding to the brisk demand. Renovation construction is also still growing.
"The peak years of construction were seen at a time when other economic growth was also fast. In this case, prices were exceptionally high, when the pent-up demand was unloaded. Construction was the first industry to start growing, so it is only natural that it also returns to normal, i.e. back to a normal level, among the first," reminds the chief economist of Rakennusteollisuus RT Jouni Vihmo.
The size of the construction market in Finland proper is well over 3 billion. The amount is about 9 percent of the entire country's market. In the second quarter of the current year, 3,3 million cubic meters of various house construction works were started in the area. The number has decreased by 13 percent from the same time last year. The downward trend affecting income can be seen most clearly in the number of building permits, which were granted 28 percent less than the previous year. Even so, the level is still quite high.
"Part of the observed decrease in building permits can be explained by the normalization of the economic situation, but it is quite likely that the slow action of the Turku building permit authorities has a very large role in this matter," states the Turku regional manager of Talonrakennusindustri. Markku Leppälehto.
All in all, the volumes of regional construction mostly follow the line of the rest of Finland. There is a difference only in the case of public construction. In the rest of Finland, it continues to grow, but in Finland proper, no particularly large public construction projects are yet underway. Industrial and warehouse construction, on the other hand, is on the rise, although it is not yet at a very high level.
Even in 2018, the exceptionally fast pace of construction was clearly visible in the sector's employment in the form of a growing number of jobs. The industry employed an average of 19 people in Finland proper. Growth has stopped, but employment has remained at the same level as a year ago.
There is still a need for skilled workers in the construction industry, and especially white-collar workers. So far, the downward trend has only eased the industry's worst labor shortage. Turku as a growth center will also need housing production in the future, and renovation construction will also provide significant employment in the future. According to a survey aimed at builders, designers and contractors, all parties foresee a bright future specifically for renovation construction.
For more information:
- Regional manager Markku Leppälehto
040 745 3930 / markku.leppalehto@rakennusteollisuus.fi - Chief Economist Jouni Vihmo
050 520 1636 / jouni.vihmo@rakennusteollisuus.fi - Data from the business cycle review:
www.rakennusteollisuus.fi/alueelliset-suhdannekatsauset