Construction spending: slight decline in building construction in 2021
According to the figures of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), construction spending did not increase for the second year in a row. In building construction, there was a minus of 0.4%.
Construction spending in Switzerland remained virtually unchanged last year for the second year in succession. Investments in civil engineering increased by 1.0%, while there was a slight decrease of 0.4% in building construction. The bottom line, according to the provisional construction statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), is a minimal decline of 0.1% (real: -2.8%). Expenditure had already stagnated in the previous year, while it had increased slightly in 2019.
Investments in new construction projects decreased by 1.6% year-on-year in 2021, which was true for both public (-4.7%) and private clients (-0.8%). Investments in remodeling projects, on the other hand, grew by 2.4%, again attributable to both the public sector (+4.1%) and the private sector (+1.3%).
The decline in building construction, on the other hand, is solely attributable to a reduced commitment on the part of private builders, who recorded a minus of 0.6%. By contrast, public-sector clients increased their building construction investments (+0.9%).
Worklist increased
The work in progress (expenditures) for the subsequent year 2022 of the construction projects under construction, including public maintenance works, increased by 0.7% at the end of 2021 compared to the corresponding value of the previous year. (aw)
