The increase in the Australian Bureau of Statistics construction employment figure is expected to be a welcome respite for the industry, according to Master Builders.
The total number of people employed in the building and construction sector in February 2013 rose to 1,035,300, up 1.4 per cent from the corresponding figure in 2012.
Peter Jones, Chief Economist for Master Builders Australia said there is cautious optimism surrounding the figure.
“The rise in employment is likely to be closely linked to the mining sector as anecdotal evidence from builders is that industry activity remains quite soft.
“The question remains whether this recovery can be sustained given the mining sector is set to peak and the building sector remains weak, despite early signs of a muted recovery in housing,” Mr Jones said.
