Employment in the construction industry fell by 3.1 per cent in the 12 months between July 2001 and July of this year.
Latest figures from the Central Statistics Office also show the monthly employment index was 141.8 in July 2002 - the lowest level since 1999.
Employment dropped by 2.7 per cent in the 12 months between June 2001 and June 2002.
The report covers about 1,000 construction firms with five employees or more.