Compared to May, the level of construction costs in Latvia increased by 0.2% in June.
Labor remuneration of workers rose by 0.4%, prices of building materials grew by 0.2%, whereas maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment increased by 0.1%, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
Compared to June 2016, construction costs increased by 2%. Labor remuneration of workers grew by 3.9%, prices of building materials increased by 1.9%, while maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment rose by 0.8%.
In June, the average level of construction costs was mostly affected by an increase in the labor remuneration of assemblers, as well as growth in the prices of dolomite chips.
In Q2, as compared to Q1, the overall level of construction costs increased by 1.3%. Labor remuneration of workers grew by 3.6%, maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment rose by 0.9%, whereas prices of building materials increased by 0.7%.
In Q2, as compared to Q2 2016, the overall level of construction costs grew by 2%. Labor remuneration of workers rose by 4.5%, prices of building materials increased by 1.8%, whereas maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment grew by 0.7%.
In 2017, data on prices of construction resources are provided by approximately 190 construction enterprises and more than 40 trade enterprises. When calculating the Construction Cost Index, prices of building materials submitted by enterprises for the calculation of producer price indices in industry and import price index are also used.
The sample includes construction enterprises with the highest value of own account construction works in 2016. The share of enterprises with the value of own account construction work exceeding EUR 1 million per year accounted for 72%, in 26% of which the value of own account construction work exceeded EUR 5 million per year. The criterion for the sample of trade enterprises is their turnover and specialization. (BNN/Business World Magazine)