Daily wage of construction workers down in Q1

The average daily wage of construction workers decreased by 1.5% quarter-to-quarter to MOP787 in the first quarter of 2022. 

The average daily wages of local workers (MOP968) and non-resident workers (MOP716) went down by 1.9% and 0.3% respectively, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

In terms of main occupations, the average daily wages of welders (MOP823), concrete formwork carpenters (MOP762) and structural iron erectors (MOP778) fell by 8.9%, 6.9% and 6.6% respectively quarter-to-quarter, while the wages of painters (MOP858), air-conditioning mechanics (MOP902) and water/gas pipe installers (MOP830) rose by 6.8%, 3.8% and 2.7% respectively.

Discounting the effect of inflation, the real wage index of construction workers (95.8) in the first quarter of 2022 dropped by 3.2% quarter-to-quarter, with that of local construction workers (97.7) decreasing by 0.4%.

Earlier this year, the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) said that the lack of professional skills or willingness to learn new skills and techniques explained the low employability rate of local construction workers last year. 

In job-matching sessions, 78% of the workers whom the bureau was unsuccessful in finding employment for did not get an interview “mainly because they did not pass the techniques test or dropped out of the skill tests [before completing them].” LV