Global construction jobs to grow to 70% by 2020
Construction output will grow by up to 70% in ten years according to a report published last Thursday.
The Global Construction 2020 report by industry thinktank's Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics estimates that the construction market will be worth $12.7 trillion by 2020.
It predicts that construction in emerging markets will rise by nearly 110%, overtaking traditionally strong western markets. Emerging countries in Asia are said to be a major factor in stimulating the market. Countries with a growing population and a lack of infrastructure will begin to implement large scale civil engineering jobs to secure transport and utilities systems.
This growth will be the main factor in reversing the sharp downturn suffered by the construction sector during the global recession. Output plummeted by nearly $650 bn since 2007.
"The recent slump in the global economy has been exceptionally severe and construction has been hit more severely than most industries," said the report, entitled Global Construction 2020 by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics.
However recently there have been positive signs of global economic recovery, even in the construction industry. Holcim, the world's second largest cement maker and a key supplier for building jobs around the world, has reported positive quarterly profits and highlighted strong demand in the Asia Pacific.
The report suggests that though growth in developed nations will be slower than in emerging nations, it will still rise by 35% by 2020. It predicts that the UK will be one of the first countries to reverse the recent turn, emerging with a 2.7 average rise in GDP per year.