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Construction professionals believe it will be at least 12 months before the sector returns to pre-pandemic levels.
That’s according to a survey of more than 350 industry participants conducted by the Federation of the Construction Industry.
It is being released as construction sites are set for a resumption of activity this day of next week.
The survey found that about two-thirds of the participants had been forced to lay off staff temporarily or permanently.
Nine out of ten said the shutdown would hurt revenue, with about a third saying they expect the hit to exceed 30%.
Half of the organizations said they had resorted to government subsidies with eight out of ten of those using the wage subsidy scheme.
“Construction companies have seen 100,000 of their workers lose jobs in the past month,” said CIF Director General Tom Parlon.
“This survey shows the difficulties facing the construction industry. From cash flow problems and legal disputes to productivity challenges, the industry will need time to adapt and recover,” he added.
The survey coincides with a report on construction activity carried out by Ulster Bank.
The Purchasing Managers Index, a monthly indicator of sentiment in the industry, recorded an unprecedented drop in activity due to Covid-19’s shutdown of construction activity.
Tom Parlon, CEO of the Federation of the Construction Industry, said the industry had been essentially phased out for five weeks.
“We appreciate that we are among the first sectors of the industry to return. There is a lot of preparation to be done, but the sites are being evaluated this week and are Covid-tested,” he said.
“Fortunately, we started preparations for this a month ago. We had to carefully modify it over the weekend to comply with the national protocol. It will be done gradually. Social distancing will be a challenge. It will mean fewer people on the sites and that will affect productivity, “he said.
Parlon said he was confident that the measures would meet the standards set by the Health and Safety Authority.
“We are meeting your criteria because otherwise we would not open. There will be additional hygiene facilities on site as well as safety modifications and signage regarding distancing. More than 75,000 workers have completed online training before returning,” he explained. .
Looking ahead, he said a strong commitment from the incoming government was necessary to support and accelerate housing construction projects and critical infrastructure, as demand will remain strong.
“When you think about the stimulus, other sectors like tourism and travel will unfortunately not work there. We are in a good position to absorb that stimulus and provide jobs and create additional economic activity,” he concluded. .
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