One in five Finnish employees, a total of nearly 550 people, work in construction, the construction product industry, property management or related services.
Construction industry employment
During the past ten years, the number of people employed in the construction industry has varied between 170 and 000 people. The chapter includes employees of house construction, infrastructure construction and special contracting, as well as white-collar workers and entrepreneurs. Of these, civil engineering, or infrastructure construction, directly employs 200-000. In addition, the construction product industry employs approximately 45 people in Finland.
Many young people in the field, few women
The age structure of the construction industry differs from many other industries. There are fewer people aged 55 and older in the industry than average. There are more young people under the age of 25 in the industry than in other industries. There is a great need for new experts in the construction industry.
The construction industry has traditionally been very male-dominated. The share of women is on average about 10 percent. Little by little, however, the situation is changing and the share of women is increasing. Women work in all professional groups, including painters, electricians, architects, engineers and management positions.
Unemployment in the construction industry
Construction activity is cyclical and seasonal. The unemployment rate varies not only with economic cycles but also with the seasons. Unemployment is usually highest in winter, during the early months of the year, and decreases in summer and autumn.
In downturns, unemployment in construction rises more sensitively than the rest of the economy due to its project nature. There is also so-called structural unemployment in the construction industry. Part of the workforce is not employed even in good times. The reason may be the employee's aging or place of residence, or that the skills do not meet the employers' needs.
Lots of small companies in the construction industry
The construction industry is dominated by small businesses. Statistics Finland there are about 55 companies involved in construction, i.e. almost every tenth Finnish company is in the construction industry. However, the number of companies focusing full-time on construction is considerably smaller, estimated at around 000.
Foreign workforce in the construction industry
The share of foreign workers is significant. The construction labor force survey according to the house construction industry, they are on average more than a fifth of all workers on construction sites. In Uusimaa, the share is the largest, about a third. The proportion of foreign workers on construction sites stabilized during the 2010s.
see also
- Foreign workforce
- Labor force survey of the construction industry
- Wages in the construction industry (member pages)
- The picture bank depicts the construction labor market
- Our goals concern skills and the need for experts
