DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

		Dec qtr 09	Sep qtr 09 to Dec qtr 09	Dec qtr 08 to Dec qtr 09
		$m	% change	% change
TREND ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done
	Building	18 866.9	2.0	-2.2
	Residential	10 432.5	0.1	-4.1
	Non-residential	8 423.6	4.3	0.1
	Engineering	21 141.1	2.7	15.0
	Total construction	40 057.7	2.5	6.3
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done
	Building	19 337.9	6.1	-0.4
	Residential	10 322.8	-2.9	-6.2
	Non-residential	9 015.1	18.6	7.0
	Engineering	20 761.9	-0.5	8.3
	Total construction	40 099.8	2.6	3.9
(a) Chain volume measures, reference year 2007-08.

Value of construction work done, Chain volume measures - Trend estimates

Value of building work done, Chain volume measures - Trend estimates

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


VALUE OF WORK DONE, CHAIN VOLUME MEASURES

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION

• The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 2.5% in the December quarter 2009.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done rose 2.6%, to $40,099.8m, in the December quarter, and now shows a rise of 1.6% in the September quarter.

BUILDING

• The trend estimate for total and non-residential building work done should be interpreted with caution. See the data notes on page 2 of this publication.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate of building work done rose 6.1% to $19,337.9m, in the December quarter. Residential building fell 2.9% to $10,322.8m and non-residential building rose 18.6%, to $9,015.1m.

ENGINEERING

• The trend estimate for Engineering work done rose 2.7% in the current quarter.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for Engineering work done fell 0.5%, to $20,761.9m, in the December quarter.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
March 2010	26 May 2010
June 2010	25 August 2010

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This publication provides an early indication of trends in building and engineering construction activity. The data are estimates based on a response rate of approximately 80% of the value of both building and engineering work done during the quarter. More comprehensive and updated results will be released in Engineering Construction Activity, Australia (cat.no.8762.0) on 8 April 2010 and in Building Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8752.0) on 14 April 2010.


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.


DATA NOTES

The trend estimates should be interpreted with caution as the underlying behaviour of building activity may be affected by initiatives within the Government stimulus package, which included the "Building the Education Revolution" (BER) program and the Social Housing Initiative as well as other developments associated with global economic conditions. As with the publication Building Approvals, Australia, (cat. no 8731.0) BER impacts have been quantified and removed from the trend estimates because of its short term nature. For more details on trend estimates, please see paragraphs 24 to 26 of the explanatory notes.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Paul Pamment on Adelaide (08) 8237 7647.