The construction sector in Costa Rica has shown signs of recovery, the creation of new jobs in this area is one of the main signs, employment grew by 5.17% in the first trimester of 2017 in comparison with the last trimester of 2016.

According to data by the Costa Rica Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), provided by the Costa Rica Construction Chamber, the growth represented 6,540 new jobs, going from 126,357 in the last trimester of 2016 to 132,897 in the first trimester of 2017.

Close to 25% of jobs in construction are taken by foreigners out of which 95% are from Nicaragua.

“The Nicaraguan labor in this sector is vital. It is a very important workforce for our country, not just in construction but in other areas such as agriculture. Nicaraguan workers develop in different roles in the construction sector, from regular construction workers to engineers”, said engineer Jorge Arturo González.

According to data by the Costa Rica Central Bank, for 2016 the GNP of the construction sector was of US$2,435 million, representing a 4.4% of the GNP. It is expected that for 2017 the sector has a growth of at least 2.2%, mainly because of an increase in the private construction which has had a growth every month in 2017 of over 5%.

The public construction, however, has shown a decrease since 2016 which continues so far this year.

The general scenario, however, is positive, thanks to the contribution of the private sector.