The business confidence index for Ukraine’s construction market rose by 4 percentage points (pp) in the third quarter of 2026 compared to the second quarter, reaching “minus” 21.1%, according to the State Statistics Service (State Statistics Service). According to a survey of construction companies conducted by the agency, the assessment of the current volume of orders improved by 6.3 p.p. to “minus” 35.2%. Thus, 60% of the surveyed companies assessed their current order volume as normal for the season, while 38% assessed it as insufficient.
Sixty-one percent of respondents expect prices for their services to rise by the end of the third quarter of this year. Only 2% of respondents forecast a decrease in the cost of construction work, while 36% do not expect any changes in pricing policy.
According to State Statistics Service data, the companies participating in the survey have an average of six months’ worth of orders, which corresponds to the pre-war level at the beginning of 2022.
The State Statistics Service notes that in the third quarter of 2026, the construction sector will be negatively affected by labor shortages (53.6%), financial constraints (47.9%), insufficient demand (20.7%), and other factors (42.3%).
About 25% of the surveyed companies expect a reduction in their workforce in July–September, while 56% believe their workforce will remain unchanged, and 19% forecast an expansion of their workforce.
According to the State Statistics Service, 43% of respondents reported an increase in the volume of construction work completed in the previous quarter, while 22% reported a decrease.
The survey showed that 98% of Ukrainian construction companies find it quite difficult to predict future business trends.
The statistical data does not include territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation or parts of territories where hostilities are (or were) taking place.
BUSINESS EXPECTATIONS, CONSTRUCTION MARKET, State Statistics Service, UKRAINE
The business confidence indicator in the construction market of Ukraine in the first quarter of 2019 increased by 4.8 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, to minus 12.5%. According to the poll of construction companies by the State Statistics Service, the assessment of a shortage of the current volume of orders fell by 10 p.p., to minus 30%.
According to the results of the survey, 32% of companies rated their current order volume as insufficient, 65% as normal for the season and only 2% as exceeding the norm.
Some 44% of respondents expect an increase in prices for their services in the first quarter of this year, which is 1 p.p. more than in the fourth quarter of 2018, while 2% of the companies surveyed predict a decrease in the cost of construction work, and 54% do not expect any changes in the price policy.
According to the service, companies participating in the survey are provided with orders for an average of five months, which corresponds to the indicators of 2018.
The service said in the first quarter unfavorable weather conditions will more affect the work of construction companies, and 39% of respondents will continue to experience financial constraints. In addition, 20% of companies will be constrained by an insufficient demand, 18% by a shortage of workforce.
Some 20% of the companies surveyed expect a reduction in the number of their employees in January-March 2019, while 16% predict an increase in the number of employees.
The index of business expectations of enterprises in Ukraine for the next 12 months has reached the highest level since the second quarter of 2011 – 120.6%, according to a survey of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on business expectations, which was conducted in the first quarter of 2018. “The revival of business activity is expected by companies of all types of economic activity… High pace of growth of economic activity remains in place, mainly due to improved forecasts for growth in total sales of products, as well as investment costs for machinery, equipment and stock,” reads a report posted on the NBU’s website.
According to the NBU, the business increased an assessment of the financial and economic situation of its enterprises for the seventh consecutive quarter. A total of 88% of respondents assess their position as “satisfactory” or “good.” At the same time, the NBU notes that the optimism of businesses regarding their own situation supports the expectations for an increase in the volume of production as a whole in Ukraine. “This was stated by every third enterprise out of those polled. Yet every second believes that the country’s output will remain at the current level. Representatives of companies in the processing industry, trade and agriculture are the most optimistic,” the survey notes.
There has also been an increase in the number of companies that are optimistic about changing their financial situation during the coming quarters. The survey was conducted from February 5 to March 6, 2018. A total of 670 enterprises from 22 regions of the participated in the survey. They represent the economy by main types of activity, forms of ownership, and the number of employees.
