Employment in construction industry hits all-time high
ISTANBUL
The number of paid employees in the construction sector reached a record level in August, climbing to 2.01 million, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
This marks the highest figure since records began in January 2009.
Across the industry, construction and trade-services sectors combined, total employment rose by 1.2 percent year-on-year to 16.09 million in August. The strongest increase was recorded in construction, where employment grew by 7.2 percent compared with the same month last year, adding 134,733 workers.
Breaking down the figures, 1.32 million people were employed in building construction, 258,390 in non-building construction and 436,053 in specialized construction activities. Growth rates in these sub-groups stood at 8.4 percent, 5.1 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Commenting on the data, Professor Ali Hepşen from Istanbul University’s Faculty of Business Administration said the rise in construction employment should be interpreted across several layers.
He pointed to the acceleration of public infrastructure and urban transformation projects in recent months as a key driver.
He also noted that private sector firms, despite sluggish sales, continue production under a “complete it, even if unsold” strategy, given high financing costs and ongoing price increases.
Additionally, temporary corrections in registering previously informal employment, particularly within subcontractor chains, have boosted the statistics in the short term, he said.
Hepşen cautioned that sustaining employment at this level may be difficult.
Unless housing sales and new building permits support the momentum, employment could flatten or slightly adjust downward in the first quarter of the new year.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that the construction sector remains the largest source of employment within the economy, despite the challenging high-cost environment.
Mustafa Ekiz, chairman of the Real Estate and Construction Platform, stated that housing production in the earthquake-hit region, social housing projects, the continuation of private sector investments in housing, urban transformation initiatives and the acceleration of public infrastructure tenders all contributed to the record.
This data shows that construction is strengthening its locomotive role in economic growth, he emphasized.
"Despite strong demand in the housing market, the decline in stocks in recent months has encouraged the private sector to launch new projects. We must accelerate supply in this field and increase production,” Ekiz said.
Meanwhile, TÜİK reported yesterday that labor costs in the construction industry rose by 0.82 percent in September compared with the previous month, marking a 30.99 percent increase year-on-year.
The headline construction cost index advanced 0.87 percent month-on-month and was up 23.18 percent from the same period last year. The material cost index increased by 0.90 percent on a monthly basis and 19.32 percent annually.
