The business confidence indicator in the Ukrainian construction market rose by 1.2 percentage points (pp) in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, to “minus” 27.7%, according to the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to a survey of construction companies conducted by the agency, the assessment of the current volume of orders deteriorated by 1.7 p.p. to “minus” 43.1%. Thus, 56% of the companies surveyed assessed their current volume of orders as normal for the season, while 42% assessed it as insufficient.
Sixty percent of respondents expect prices for their services to increase at the end of the first quarter of this year. Only 5% of respondents predict a decrease in the cost of construction work, while 39% 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 figure at the beginning of 2022.
The statistics agency notes that in the first quarter of 2026, the negative impact on construction will be due to labor shortages (56.8%), financial constraints (47%), insufficient demand (33%), and other factors (45%). At the same time, expectations of a negative impact from weather conditions have increased significantly: while 12% of the companies surveyed reported this factor in the previous quarter, the number has now risen to 45%.
About 29% of the companies surveyed expect a reduction in the number of employees in January-March, while 57% believe that their number will remain unchanged, and 14% predict an expansion of staff.
According to the State Statistics Service, 40% of respondents noted an increase in the volume of construction work completed in the last quarter, while 27% reported a decrease in volume.
The survey showed that 98% of Ukrainian construction companies find it quite difficult to predict the future development of the business situation.
The statistics do not include territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of territories where hostilities are (were) ongoing.
