According to information from the aforementioned body, disclosed by the Association of Private Construction Promoters of Uruguay (APPCU) The number of formal construction workers went up to 62,552a maximum for the last few years.
The UPM plant is nearing completion, but state investment maintains employment levels
In the first 11 months of 2022, the number of formal workers in construction averaged 56,592 workers; it started at less than 51,000 and is now at the referred 62,500.
The data is especially relevant because it reflects that the dynamics in the sector has been maintained, despite the fact that the UPM plant that is being built in Durazno is nearing completion, with start-up expected in the coming weeks.
It happens that despite the gradual reduction of work there in Durazno, the government has deployed important road investments throughout the territory, with an assigned budget amount of 900 million dollars annually. To this must be added several investment projects in the industrial and logistics areas, which also add hundreds of new construction jobs.
But surely the most relevant factor to explain the reported trend is the great dynamics that are taking place in housing construction. Indeed, under the regime of Promoted Housing – which exempts investors from taxes to the extent that it is built in certain areas considered to be of interest – the number of new housing projects presented has been increasing and with it the activity in the construction sector.
The dynamics in this sector is very relevant for the economy, to the extent that construction has notably improved wage levels in recent years, which then leads to a greater consumption capacity of these workers.
More jobs with more pay implies greater dynamics in domestic consumption, which is still waiting for a greater reactivation after the hard blow caused by the pandemic.
Source: Ambito
