The Civil Construction National Index, calculated by the IBGE in partnership with CAIXA - Caixa Econômica Federal, recorded in December, change of 1.08%, presenting stability in relation to November (1.07%). The accumulated index in the year remained in 10.95%. This result was 3.36 percentage points lower than the result recorded in the same period of 2003 (14.31%). In the comparison with December 2003 (0.36%), the hike was of 0.72 percentage point.

The national cost per square meter passed to R$ 507.70, being R$ 298.26 relative to materials and R$ 209.44 relative to labor force.

Materials passed from 1.43% in November to 1.30% in December, recording fall of 0.13 percentage point. In the year, the accumulated index was 13.94%, a hike of 1.01 percentage point in relation to the accumulated index of 2003 (12.93%).

On the other hand, labor force increased in December (0.76%), changing 0.19 percentage point in relation to November (0.57%). The accumulated index in the year remained in 6.96%, significantly below the result of 2003 (16.21%), which unveils that in 2004 the indexes defined in the collective agreements were lower than the ones negotiated in 2003.

Southeast Region recorded the major monthly index

The Southeast presented the major regional index in December (1.28%), as a consequence mainly of the wage readjustments that occurred in Minas Gerais. The other regions presented results below the national average of 1.08%: Northeast with 0.99%; North with 0.90%; South and Central West with 0.87%.

The Northeast Region presented the highest accumulated index in the year (12.44%) and the North Region the lowest accumulated index in the year (8.65%). The Southeast Region showed a result of 10.72% and the South and Central West Regions a result of 10.65%.

The regional costs were: R$ 545.28 (Southeast); R$ 513.06 (South); R$ 487.58 (Central West); R$ 480.82 (North) and R$ 463.74 (Northeast).

Among the states, Minas Gerais and Paraíba stood out in December

Minas Gerais (4.30%) and Paraíba (2.12%) recorded the major monthly indexes due to the wage readjustments of the civil construction professional categories. The lowest change from November to December remained with Rondônia (0.11%).

The state of Pernambuco presented the highest accumulated index of 2004 (14.70%), followed by Sergipe (14.06%), Paraíba (13.55%), Bahia (13.36%) and Rio Grande do Norte (13.18%).

Amapá closed the year with the smallest result (6.95%), followed by Acre with 7.14%.

NOTE: these results are calculated monthly by the IBGE in partnership with CAIXA – Caixa Econômica Federal.