Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers decreased by 0.9% quarter-to-quarter to MOP798 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The average daily wages of local workers (MOP974) and non-resident workers (MOP722) went down by 1.8% and 0.1% respectively.
In terms of main occupation, the average daily wages of water/gas pipe installers (MOP786), electricians & electrical workers (MOP858) and plant operators (MOP868) dropped by 4.4%, 3.8% and 3.7% respectively quarter-to-quarter; meanwhile, the wages of concrete formwork carpenters (MOP818), structural iron erectors (MOP824) and bricklayers & plasterers (MOP764) grew by 3.2%, 2.9% and 1.9% respectively.
After discounting the effect of inflation, the wage index of construction workers (96.2) in the fourth quarter of 2022 dipped by 1.2% quarter-to-quarter in real terms, with that of local construction workers (98.2) decreasing by 1.1%. For the whole year of 2022, the average wage index of construction workers (96.4) rose by 1.0% year-on-year in real terms, and that of local construction workers (97.9) grew by 4.4%.
As regards construction materials, the average price of concrete (MOP1,101 per cubic metre) in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by 0.3% quarter-to-quarter, while that of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars (MOP6,123 per tonne) decreased by 2.4%. The price index of construction materials for residential buildings (125.2) held stable; the price indices of electric wires and cement grew by 7.9% and 4.9% respectively, whereas the price index of steel dropped by 2.2%. For the whole year of 2022, the average price index of construction materials for residential buildings (125.5) went up by 4.7% year-on-year.