The Australian Industry Group and HIA Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) contracted by 11.1 points to 45.9 points in December 2021 and January 2022 (seasonally adjusted, combined result for two months), indicating contraction in activity across the construction sector (results below 50 points). This indicates a reversal of the recovery recorded in November and the weakest result since August 2021.

The sharp reduction in the headline index partly reflects the impact of the more infectious COVID-19 Omicron variant – respondents reported staff shortages as increased numbers of people isolated across the period. All four sectors in the Australian PCI® reported weaker results in December 2021 and January 2022 compared to November – engineering was stable but housing, commercial and particularly apartments recorded strong contractions.