This is important industrial statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism conducting detailed analysis of construction industry management conditions and revenue structure changes. The survey is a sample survey targeting approximately 15,000 companies out of about 470,000 licensed construction companies nationwide, aiming to comprehensively understand structural changes and management challenges in the construction industry.
Management profitability analysis shows the construction industry overall operating profit margin at 5.8%, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous survey (FY2021: 6.4%). This is primarily attributed to insufficient pass-through of rising labor and material costs to contract prices. By business type, civil engineering reached 6.2% (previous 6.8%), building construction 5.4% (previous 6.1%), and equipment construction 5.9% (previous 6.5%), all confirming profit margin declines.
Profitability disparity by company size is expanding, with large companies with capital over 100 million yen maintaining average 7.3% profit margins, while small and medium enterprises with capital under 10 million yen remain at 4.8%. Particularly, small-scale businesses with under 20 employees show low levels at 3.9%, clearly demonstrating differences in economies of scale effects.
Regarding workforce conditions, the entire construction industry faces labor shortage of about 340,000 people, with skilled worker shortage particularly severe. Age composition shows workers aged 55 and above comprising about 38% of total workers, while those aged 29 and below remain at only about 12%, indicating rapid aging progression. By occupation shortage rates, form carpenters (47% shortage rate), plasterers (45%), scaffolders (42%), and rebar workers (40%) show particularly severe labor shortages in specialized skill-requiring occupations.
Working condition improvements show companies implementing five-day work weeks reaching 68% overall, up 9 percentage points from the previous survey's 59%. Annual total working hours averaged 2,058 hours, reduced by 66 hours from the previous 2,124 hours, showing effects of work style reforms. However, compared to the all-industry average of 1,893 hours, long working hour tendencies persist.
Regarding material price impacts, about 78% of surveyed companies responded "affected by material price increases." Materials with particularly large impacts include rebar/steel frames (89%), cement/ready-mixed concrete (82%), lumber (76%), and fuel costs (74%). Regarding price pass-through conditions, only 28% of companies "completely pass through" prices, with "partial pass-through" at 54% and "unable to pass through" at 18%, indicating more difficult price pass-through situations for smaller companies.