CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The contribution of an industry to the overall production of goods and services in an economy, gross domestic product (GDP), is measured by industry gross value added (GVA). Information on the relationship between industry GVA and GDP is provided in the INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE chapter.

The total production of the Construction industry, as measured by industry GVA (in volume terms), is shown in graph 21.1. After a decline in 2000–01, construction production continued its growth, reaching $102 billion in 2010–11. In 2010–11, the Construction industry's share of the total production of goods and services in the Australian economy was 7.7%.

Table 21.2 shows average annual employment for each component of the Construction industry. In 2010–11, the industry employed an average of 1,033,900 people, 3% higher than in 2009–10. Construction services was the largest employer, with an average of 695,100 people in 2010–11.

21.2 CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY(a), Employment(b)
	2009–10	2010–11
ANZSIC Subdivision	'000	'000
Building construction	233.0	230.5
Heavy and civil engineering construction	69.9	70.2
Construction services	657.9	695.1
Construction n.f.d.(c)	43.1	38.1
Total construction	1 003.9	1 033.9
(a) Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 edition (1292.0).
(b) Annual average of quarterly data.
(c) Not further defined. Insufficient detail collected from survey respondent to allocate data to a specific industry code.
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (6291.0.55.003).

Table 21.3 shows selected economic indicators for the Construction industry. In 2009–10, wages and salaries were $43 billion, an increase of 5% from 2008–09. This was mainly due to increases in wages and salaries for Heavy and civil engineering (12%) and Construction services (4%).

21.3 CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY(a), Selected performance measures
								Business profitability
ANZSIC subdivision	Wages and salaries(b)	Total income	Sales and service income(c)	Operating profit before tax	Capital expenditure(d)	Industry value added	Profit margin	Businesses that made a profit	Businesses that broke even	Businesses that made a loss
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	%	%	%	%
Building construction
2008–09	8 865	103 601	102 458	3 826	7 685	18 007	3.7	67.3	1.2	31.5
2009–10	8 912	110 276	108 679	6 734	8 535	19 101	6.2	68.1	1.2	30.7
Heavy and civil engineering construction
2008–09	8 858	45 258	43 921	3 346	3 391	14 627	7.6	69.8	0.1	30.0
2009–10	9 927	49 187	47 078	3 601	3 298	16 043	7.6	84.1	0.2	15.7
Construction services
2008–09	23 126	116 094	113 775	16 107	7 088	46 265	14.2	78.2	1.6	20.2
2009–10	24 079	121 338	119 533	16 330	5 869	48 679	13.7	77.8	1.3	20.9
Total construction
2008–09	40 849	264 953	260 154	23 280	18 164	78 899	8.9	75.9	1.5	22.6
2009–10	42 918	280 802	275 290	26 665	17 702	83 822	9.7	76.3	1.2	22.5
(a) Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 edition (1292.0). (b) Includes capitalised wages and salaries. Excludes the drawings of working proprietors. (c) Includes rent, leasing and hiring income. (d) Includes capital work done for own use.
Source: Australian Industry (8155.0).

Between 2008–09 and 2009–10, total income for the Construction industry increased by 6%, to $281 billion. Capital expenditure decreased overall by 3% between 2008–09 and 2009–10, with a fall of 17% in Construction services, partly offset by an increase for the Building construction industry of 11%.

The operating profit before tax of the Construction industry increased by 15% in 2009–10, to $27 billion, while the profit margin of the industry increased to 9.7%. A profit was made by 76% of businesses in the Construction industry in both 2008–09 and 2009–10,