Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers decreased by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter to MOP775 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The average daily wages of local workers (MOP984) and non-resident workers (MOP693) went down by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively.
In terms of main occupations, the average daily wages of fire service mechanics (MOP834), aluminium/glass installers (MOP828) and air-conditioning mechanics (MOP911) fell by 3.9%, 3.6% and 3.2% respectively quarter-on-quarter, while the wages of concrete formwork carpenters (MOP894), structural iron erectors (MOP878) and electricians & electrical workers (MOP783) rose by 3.0%, 2.9% and 2.5% respectively.
After discounting the effect of inflation, the real wage index of construction workers (94.2) in the fourth quarter went down by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, with that of local construction workers (97.0) decreasing by 1.0%. For the whole year of 2023, the average wage index of construction workers (95.5) dropped by 0.9% year-on-year in real terms.
As regards construction materials, the average price of concrete (MOP1,090 per cubic metre) decreased by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, while that of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars (MOP5,690 per tonne) edged up by 0.1%. The price index of construction materials for residential buildings went down by 0.3% to 124.2 in the fourth quarter, with the price indices of equipment, timber and concrete falling by 1.3%, 0.9% and 0.6% respectively. For the whole year of 2023, the average price index of construction materials for residential buildings (125.1) dropped by 0.3% year-on-year.