The workforce survey examines the overall workforce situation of RT's member companies and, among other things, the share of foreign workforce in house and infrastructure construction and the construction product industry. The results are a cross-section of the workforce of construction sites and production facilities at a certain moment.
According to the most recent survey, 37 percent of those working in the house construction industry in Uusimaa were foreigners, and around one in ten in the rest of the country. The average share of foreigners in the entire country was 30 percent.
In infrastructure construction, there were 7 percent of foreigners in the survey, but the number is most likely around 10 to 15 percent. In the construction product industry, foreigners were 14 percent and they mainly come through hired labor.
The most recent labor force survey describes the labor force situation on November 30, 2023. The survey has so far been carried out in the building construction industry nine times since 2007. In infrastructure construction, the survey has been conducted four times, and in the construction product industry for the first time in 2023. In infrastructure construction, the results are indicative due to the small number of responses and the end of the year survey time.
A more comprehensive picture of the amount of foreign labor on construction sites than the labor force survey can be obtained from the notifications received by the Tax Administration. The main contractor of the joint construction site must notify the taxman every month of all persons working on the site, regardless of the quality of the employment relationship or the employer. Based on data from the tax administration, the share of foreign labor on construction sites will remain around 20 percent in 2023. The figure represents the entire country on average, and includes workers in building and infrastructure construction as well as special contracting.
Survey materials
- Media release (February 21.2.2024, XNUMX): The proportion of foreign workers in construction has increased in recent years, but the acute economic situation has cut the entire workforce
- Summary of the results of the labor force survey 2023