JOHANNESBURG - There may finally be cracks of recovery in South Africa’s struggling construction sector.
The latest Afrimat Construction Index shows the industry grew by a modest 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026.
This is the third straight quarter of improvement, something not seen since 2020.
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Higher construction activity, more buildings completed, and rising building material sales drove gains.
Economist Roelof Botha says one of the biggest positives is employment.
The sector created 74,000 more jobs than a year ago.
That means construction accounted for 11% of all jobs created, despite making up just 5.5% of GDP.