Brasília – The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) reported this Monday (21) that pessimism between construction industry business owners has been decreasing. According to data from the Construction Industry Survey, the activity level evolution index of the sector went from 33.6 points in January to 35.2 points in February.
The index measuring the number of employees went from 33.8 points to 35.5 points in the period. The index is based on a 0 to 100 scale and values below 50 points signal a retraction on activity and employment.
CNI also reported that for the second consecutive month, there was a reduction in pessimism between the sector’s business owners in regards to outlooks. In March, the expectation index for the activity level registered 40.6 points. In February, it marked 39.8 points.
The expectation index for the purchase of inputs and raw materials increased from 38.1 points in February to 39.3 points this month. The expectations index for the number of employees went from 38.5 points to 39.2 points in the period. The only index that remained stable, according to CNI, was the expectation index for new developments and services at 38.1 points. Values below 50 points signal pessimism.
In March, the sector’s the investment intentions index registered 23.5 points and it’s the lowest level of the historical series that begun on November 2013. The Construction Industry Survey was done between March 1 to 10 with 593 companies, from which 183 are of small size, 267 of medium-size and 143 are large companies.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
