Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers in the third quarter of 2018 decreased by 0.5% quarter-to-quarter to MOP763, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. The average daily wage of non-resident construction workers (MOP634) dropped by 1.7%, while that of local construction workers (MOP970) rose slightly by 0.9% quarter-to-quarter.
In terms of occupation, the average daily wages of concrete formwork carpenters (MOP760), water / gas pipe installers (MOP870), air-conditioning mechanics (MOP852) and structural iron erectors (MOP793) decreased by 7.1%, 5.1%, 4.8% and 3.4% respectively; meanwhile, the average daily wage of bricklayers & plasterers (MOP704) increased by 3.5%.
After discounting the effect of inflation, the wage index of construction workers (99.6) for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by 1.4% quarter-to-quarter in real terms, and that of local construction workers (96.9) fell by 0.4%.
As regards construction materials, the average prices of concrete (MOP876 per cubic metre) and spiral & round reinforcing steel bars (MOP4,742 per tonne) in the third quarter increased by 7.6% and 1.2% respectively quarter-to-quarter. The price index of construction materials for residential buildings in the third quarter went up by 1.9% quarter-to-quarter to 108.6, with the price indices of aggregate, sand and concrete rising by 29.2%, 23.2% and 7.3% respectively.