Building costs and prices
Updated: 25 November 2011
Labour cost inflation low for now
The Labour Cost Index1 (LCI) for the construction industry rose 2.3% in the year to September 2011. LCI is an indicator of the labour costs of construction. Wage growth remains stagnant in construction, leading to labour cost growth well below pre-2009 levels (Figure 10a). However, construction labour cost inflation looks to be trending upwards.
The LCI for all industries also rose 2.0% in the year to September 2011.

Builders absorbing rising commodity costs
The Producers Price Index (PPI) for construction industry inputs rose 3.2% in the year to September 2011. PPI-Input2 is an indicator of the non-labour costs of construction. The PPI-Input for all industries rose 4.7% in the year to September 2011.
The Producers Price Index (PPI) for construction industry outputs rose 3.2% in the year to September 2011. The PPI-Output3 is an indicator of the price of construction. The PPI-Output for all industries rose 3.5% in the year to September 2011.

The Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) is another indicator of the price of construction work. The CGPI for:
- residential construction rose 1.4% in the year to September 2011
- non-residential construction fell 0.8% in the year to September 2011
- civil construction rose 5.3% in the year to September 2011 .
CPGI for all industries remains the same in the year to September 2011.
