Released today by the IBGE, the National Index of Civil Construction registered the lowest rate for a month of March compared with the previous years, with a change 0.14% and a decrease of 0.16 percentage points in relation to February. 

Augusto Oliveira, manager of the survey, highlighted the negative change (-0.22%) of share relative to labor force. "If we compare with March last year, the decrease is even bigger", he declares. The material share, 0.49%, had a small change over the previous month (0.54%).

As a result, the national cost of construction, per square meter, stood at R$1,074.41, of which R$553.35 were relative to materials and R$521.06, to labor force.

The Northeast was the region with the biggest monthly change (0.32%), while the North and South had negative changes, -0.02% and -0.01%.

Among the states, Rio Grande do Norte had the greatest increase (0.72%). The biggest negative change (-1.09%) occurred in Amapá, since materials had a deflation of -1.94%, mainly because of the decrease in the cement price.