The construction sector is expected to add 3.2 million jobs over the next 10 years or until 2030, according to a private sector study supported by the Trade Department.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said while the construction sector lost some people to the business process outsourcing industry in recent years, the competitive salaries offered by private companies would woo them back to the building sector.
“The construction sector had been losing people to BPOs. With the roadmap, they [workers] will realize it is better to work in the sector where their skills are matched with their jobs,” Lopez said Wednesday at the sidelines of the 4th Philippine Construction Industry Congress.
“Under this administration, there was a sharp expansion in the number of construction workers, recording a 1.5-million increase during the 2016 to 2019 period. In 2019 alone, out of the 1.27 million new jobs generated, 287,000 were in the construction sector alone,” he said.
The study said that from 3.9 million workers in 2018, the construction industry is expected to employ 7.1 million by 2030. Construction value is also projected to jump from P2.3 trillion in 2018 to P21.4 trillion by 2030.
He said that by 2030, the construction sector would employ about 800,000 professionals, 4.4 million highly-skilled workers and 1.9 million unskilled laborers.
The Trade Department also predicted that the average construction worker in 2030 would produce 500 percent more work compared to the work produced in 2018.
Data showed that the construction industry contributed P1.3 trillion in gross profits for the economy in 2018.
The agency said that with the full adoption of the construction roadmap and action plans, the cumulative value of the sector was expected to reach P130 trillion by 2030, a quantum leap from P43 trillion without the guidance of a roadmap.