Construction

The construction industry - a principal industry

The construction industry is one of the principal industries in Denmark and is mainly occupied with maintenance and expansion of the building stock and infrastructure. In 2008, the industry consisted of 36,000 companies which is almost 8,500 more than in 2000 - an increase of over 30%.¹

The distribution between sub-sectors' shares of the total number of companies in the construction industry is fairly constant over time. From 2000 to 2008, there has hardly been any change between the five sub-industries; construction contractors, building contractors, masons, construction installation and building completion.² The latter constitutes approx. 40% of the construction industry.

Turnover increase from 2003 onwards
The construction industry's turnover is highly cyclical, however observed over the period 2000 to 2008 as a whole, turnover has risen from DKK 147 bn. in 2000 to DKK 241 bn. in 2008, representing an overall increase of 63.8%. The increase has taken place from 2003 onwards, while the construction industry's total turnover in 2000-2003 was stable at around DKK 150 bn.³

TMarginal share of export
The construction industry is not a particularly export intensive industry, and exports in the period 2000 to 2008 accounts for only approx. 1.5% of total industry turnover on average. During the period, exports fell gradually, both in absolute terms and as percentage of total turnover in the industry. Where exports in 2000 amounted to DKK 3.7 bn., equivalent to 2.5% of total industry turnover, it amounted in 2008 to DKK 2.7 bn., equivalent to 1.1% of total industry turnover.⁴

Cyclical sensitive employment
The number of full-time employees in the construction industry is highly cyclical. As a result, the industry has also experienced significant fluctuations in the number of full-time employees during the period 2000 to 2008. As such, the number of full-time workers in 2008 was 12% or approx. 17,000 people over 2000 levels.

Industry cyclicality can be illustrated by comparing the period low in 2003, when there were 132,000 full-time employees, with 2008, where employment had risen to 162,000 - an increase of more than 22%.⁵

¹ Statistikbanken, GF2.
² Statistikbanken, GF2.
³ Statistikbanken, GF2 (current prices).
⁴ Statistikbanken, GF2.
⁵ Statistikbanken, GF2.

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