Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that in the second quarter of 2008, the overall average daily wage of construction workers was MOP557, down by 2.3% quarter-to-quarter. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers dropped by 4.5% to MOP578 and that of unskilled workers fell by 11.1% to MOP351.

After discounting the effect of inflation, the overall real wage index of construction workers for the second quarter of 2008 was 100.5, down by 5.8% quarter-to-quarter; the real wage index of skilled & semi-skilled workers decreased by 4.8% to 100.9 and that of unskilled workers went down by 12.5% to 97.9.

In the second quarter of 2008, prices of most of the construction materials registered quarter-to-quarter increase, in which the average price of spiral and round reinforcing steel bars rose to MOP7,082 per tonne, up by 13.0%; the average price of ordinary clear sheet glass increased by 4.3% to MOP80 per square metre and that of clamping plate (Plywood) rose by 3.5% to MOP65 per square metre.

With the objective to reflect the price changes of construction materials used in the construction of residential building projects, DSEC published the 2005-based price index of construction materials for residential buildings starting from the second quarter of 2008, which comprised 13 groups of representative construction materials used in the construction of residential buildings.

The overall price index of construction materials for residential buildings showed significant upsurge in 2007, rising by 11.4% compared with 2006. The overall price index for the second quarter of 2008 was 152.5, up drastically by 28.0% year-on-year, owing to a 68.0% surge in the price index of steel; besides, the price indices of timber and concrete also went up by 7.2% and 3.5% respectively. Compared with the previous quarter, the overall price index registered an increase of 6.9%.