There was an overall increase in new work, despite a drop in the infrastructure and public non-housing sectors, while repair and maintenance was down in nearly all sectors.
The volume of new work increased 5% over 2005. Private housing was 2% higher and the public housing sector rose 23%, but only from a small base figure. The private industrial sector rose 11% and private commercial work 13%.
However, the amount of new work in the public non-housing sector fell by 4% and infrastructure by 6%.
Repair and maintence work was generally lower – private and public housing fell 3%, and public non-housing by 7%, although private non-housing remained unchanged.
Employment in the construction industry was down 1% over the year.
