MARCH KEY FIGURES

		Mar qtr 10	Dec qtr 09 to Mar qtr 10	Mar qtr 09 to Mar qtr 10
		$m	% change	% change
TREND ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done
	Building	19 620.1	3.6	4.5
	Residential	10 576.8	0.5	-0.2
	Non-residential	9 011.3	7.1	10.1
	Engineering	19 676.5	-2.0	1.6
	Total construction	39 279.0	0.7	3.0
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done
	Building	19 809.6	4.4	4.8
	Residential	10 577.0	0.9	0.8
	Non-residential	9 232.6	8.6	9.8
	Engineering	19 666.1	-0.4	6.4
	Total construction	39 475.7	1.9	5.6
(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

MARCH KEY POINTS


VALUE OF WORK DONE, CHAIN VOLUME MEASURES

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION

• The trend estimate for total construction work done rose 0.7% in the March quarter 2010.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done rose 1.9%, to $39,475.7m, in the March quarter 2010.

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 4.4%, to $19,809.6m, in the March quarter.

ENGINEERING

• The trend estimate for Engineering work done fell 2.0% in the current quarter and is now showing falls for two quarters.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for Engineering work done fell 0.4%, to $19,666.1m, in the March quarter.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
June 2010	25 August 2010
September 2010	24 November 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 1 July 2010 and in Building Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8752.0) on 14 July 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.