Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - After years of upswing, the construction industry in Hesse is expecting noticeable declines. Rising construction costs, interest rates and high inflation are dampening demand for construction services, especially in residential construction, the Hesse Association of Building Trades and Construction Entrepreneurs announced on Tuesday. Adjusted for prices, a drop in sales in residential construction of around 10 percent is expected this year.
Commercial and industrial construction will also shrink, albeit less sharply by four to five percent. In public construction, the association also expects a minus in 2023, as increased social spending and wage increases restricted clients. Overall, the order backlog in the industry has been falling for months.
Last year, after a long job build-up, the number of employees fell slightly again to a good 67,000 people directly employed in construction, the association said in Frankfurt. From January to November 2022, sales at construction companies with at least 20 employees increased by 7.2 percent compared to the same period last year, but this is almost entirely due to the increased material prices. The association expects sales of over 9.5 billion euros for the year as a whole after 9.1 billion euros in 2021.
