Compared to August, the level of construction costs in Latvia rose by 0.5% in September. Labor remuneration of workers increased by 1.2%, maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment by 0.5%, and prices of building materials by 0.1%.
In September the average level of construction costs was mostly affected by the increase in labor remuneration of workers carrying out finishing works (roofers, plasterers, sanitary technicians and others) and assemblers, according to the latest data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
Compared to September 2017 construction costs went up by 4.8%. Labor remuneration of workers grew by 9.8%, prices of building materials by 3.6%, and maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment by 3.4%.
Compared to Q2 the overall level of construction costs increased by 1% in Q3. Labor remuneration of workers rose by 2.9%, maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment by 1.2% and prices of building materials by 0.2%.
Compared to Q3 2017 in Q3 2018 the overall level of construction costs grew by 4.7%. Labor remuneration of workers went up by 9.2%, prices of building materials by 3.8%, and maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment by 3.2%.
In 2018 the 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, the 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 2017. The share of enterprises with the value of own account construction work exceeding EUR 1 million per year accounted for 80%, in 33% of which the value of own account construction work exceeded EUR 5 million per year. The criterion used to sample trade enterprises is their turnover and specialization. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
