According to official data, although the dynamics of the construction sector in the first two quarters of 2012 was favorable, it was altered by the involution during the second half of the year, confirming its entry into technical recession. Despite the fact that, in terms of value, the specific segment remained at a similar level with the one registered in 2011 - totaling 9.33 billion Euros - while the average of employees grew by 9.3%, in terms of market recovery, a further downturn was observed in 2012 in the industry and the recession maintained in the first quarter of the current year. The projects announced by the central and local authorities in the first two months of 2013 are small sized, while the important works which were promoted or released remain insufficient for the ensuring of a sustainable growth of the specific sector. Concerning investments in public-private partnership (PPP), the line authorities are undecided in initiating or assuming such objectives. Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, it was estimated that the value of the receivables due to authorities by construction firms - for works carried out during 2009-2012 – represented a total of approximately 1.8 billion Euros. Except the major problems caused by the decline of the construction sector for four consecutive years (from 15.3 billion Euros in 2008), the lack of funds for investment, the decrease of the volume of projects, the scanty law and so on, a new threat is looming through the opening of the labour market in 2014 and the need for qualified staff in countries such as Germany and France. Furthermore, given that the funding for ongoing work is blocked, about 30%-35% of all construction workers could become unemployed. If this level is reported to the total number of workers in the industry - estimated at 360,000 – almost 100,000 people would become redundant. "Under these circumstances, the premises at the beginning of this year do not allow estimates of exiting the crisis in 2013, and a new failure in this field will not generate solely a significant unemployment score, but will also affect the long-term competitiveness of entrepreneurs", said Laurenţiu Plosceanu, president of the Romanian Association of Construction Entrepreneurs (ARACO). For further information and a detailed analysis of the current Agenda Constructiilor issue, click here!