Sub-contractor Pay Trends June 2020
Demand for groundworkers points to v-shaped recovery
Hudson Contract delivers the most accurate indications of pay trends across the construction industry, using monthly payroll data for more than 2,500 construction companies to publish the average pay for a spectrum of 17 different trades now split across ten regions.
Demand for groundworkers, a leading indicator of housebuilding activity, has passed the pre-lockdown peak, suggesting a V-shaped recovery is on the cards for the UK construction sector.
As the industry’s biggest payer of subcontractors, our data shows the number of groundworks operatives paid last week reached 6,467.
This compares to the previous high of 6,261 in the week commencing March 16 and the low of 1,735 in the week commencing April 20.
Groundworkers typically prepare construction sites for the shallow foundations of new homes.
Ian Anfield, managing director, said: “Every trade follows the groundworkers so they are the best indicator of what is happening.
“We are quite surprised at these findings because a number of our large clients have not yet returned to full capacity with their labour needs.
“But many smaller construction firms are very busy as a result of pent-up demand to complete smaller housing developments.
“Our field agents tell us that housebuilding activity is recovering strongly in places like Greater Manchester but more slowly in the East Midlands.
“Interestingly, we paid more operatives with Leicester postcodes after the second lockdown was announced than we did before the measures were reintroduced.”
Overall, labour demand dropped to 30 per cent of capacity during April but has now recovered to 74 per cent, according to Hudson.
Meanwhile, earnings for subcontractors continued to recover last month.
Analysis of Hudson payroll data for more than 2,500 construction companies shows average weekly earnings of £848 for freelancers in June, compared to £827 in May and £734 in April.
The best-performing regions for earnings growth were the South West (+12 per cent), London (+7.4 per cent) and the North East (+4.4 per cent).
| Region | June 2020 Average | Month on Month % Change | Year on Year % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East | £760 | 4.4% | -1.3% |
| North West | £807 | 1.5% | -4.8% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £761 | 1.1% | -9.6% |
| East Midlands | £816 | 0.2% | -7.6% |
| West Midlands | £887 | -2.2% | -4.7% |
| Wales | £817 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| East of England | £896 | 2.3% | -3.7% |
| London | £925 | 7.4% | 1.2% |
| South East | £889 | 1.5% | -1.7% |
| South West | £878 | 12.0% | 9.6% |
To access Hudson Contract’s Construction Pay Trends index, please click here
North East
| NORTH EAST | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £798 | £1,416 | £827 | £798 | £708 | £636 | £682 | £786 |
| ELECTRICAL | £854 | - | £1,427 | £909 | £774 | £583 | £788 | £766 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £739 | £986 | £1,121 | £656 | £618 | - | £628 | £667 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £834 | £1,081 | £723 | £737 | £707 | £583 | £633 | £665 |
| INSULATION | £732 | £1,123 | £768 | £817 | £780 | £503 | £801 | £768 |
| JOINERY | £732 | £750 | £717 | £619 | £281 | £557 | £666 | |
| PLASTERING | £747 | £600 | £702 | £739 | £696 | £680 | £627 | £621 |
| ROOFING | £964 | £677 | £748 | £773 | £855 | £463 | £1,085 | £943 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £405 | £569 | £217 | £392 | £398 | £430 | £422 | |
| SHOP FITTING | £689 | - | £680 | £723 | £683 | £662 | £893 | £1,019 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £872 | £754 | £588 | £604 | £669 | £560 | £602 | £737 |
North West
| NORTH WEST | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £762 | £908 | £741 | £809 | £720 | £684 | £731 | £714 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £786 | £1,038 | £803 | £794 | £775 | £582 | £780 | £793 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £765 | £808 | £799 | £795 | £777 | £563 | £748 | £671 |
| ELECTRICAL | £935 | £1,082 | £868 | £891 | £931 | £695 | £779 | £846 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £689 | £667 | £931 | £731 | £739 | £701 | £783 | £755 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £1,032 | £917 | £992 | £1,076 | £1,022 | £920 | £910 | £977 |
| INSULATION | £700 | £1,156 | £614 | £802 | £684 | £423 | £544 | £758 |
| JOINERY | £1,191 | £571 | £1,121 | £1,184 | £1,154 | £799 | £1,178 | £1,218 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,175 | £979 | £1,270 | £1,067 | £1,037 | £878 | £669 | £813 |
| PLASTERING | £681 | £770 | £653 | £596 | £724 | £713 | £533 | £410 |
| PLUMBING | £986 | £857 | £729 | £893 | £861 | £1,329 | £890 | £808 |
| ROOFING | £967 | £874 | £882 | £860 | £918 | £719 | £883 | £846 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £708 | £1,140 | £700 | £673 | £590 | £531 | £618 | £648 |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,177 | £987 | £1,065 | £1,190 | £1,053 | £451 | £1,103 | £914 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £795 | £1,018 | £768 | £813 | £772 | £711 | £764 | £732 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £645 | £558 | £614 | £613 | £678 | £273 | £635 | £528 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £1,012 | £802 | £788 | £969 | £943 | £705 | £816 | £894 |
Yorkshire & Humber
| YORKSHIRE & HUMBER | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £740 | £948 | £690 | £715 | £820 | £621 | £709 | £708 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £828 | £1,114 | £834 | £833 | £990 | £674 | £749 | £743 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £810 | £865 | £886 | £815 | £589 | £646 | £609 | £754 |
| ELECTRICAL | £988 | £868 | £899 | £920 | £1,385 | £799 | £732 | £823 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £890 | £883 | £808 | £846 | £779 | £707 | £809 | £808 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £832 | £888 | £822 | £830 | £920 | £707 | £768 | £765 |
| INSULATION | £762 | £976 | £653 | £790 | £869 | £559 | £710 | £685 |
| JOINERY | £738 | £802 | £754 | £779 | £1,161 | £497 | £694 | £709 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,100 | £690 | £939 | £972 | £1,343 | £572 | £787 | £829 |
| PLASTERING | £809 | £1,241 | £815 | £831 | £669 | £696 | £890 | £787 |
| PLUMBING | £782 | £839 | £876 | £831 | £992 | £566 | £592 | £685 |
| ROOFING | £673 | £906 | £699 | £679 | £577 | £527 | £597 | £567 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £550 | £921 | £524 | £512 | £700 | £543 | £596 | £559 |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,378 | £718 | £1,236 | £1,433 | £1,623 | £439 | £915 | £1,021 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £854 | £880 | £1,038 | £777 | £898 | £736 | £759 | £677 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £956 | £432 | £964 | £1,195 | - | £845 | £1,062 | £1,026 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £869 | £865 | £692 | £797 | £844 | £675 | £688 | £761 |
East Midlands
| EAST MIDLANDS | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £849 | £1,238 | £895 | £905 | £859 | £615 | £699 | £737 |
| ELECTRICAL | £977 | £640 | £880 | £970 | £749 | £831 | £875 | £827 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £1,120 | £1,067 | £1,010 | £1,114 | £1,042 | £928 | £833 | £759 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £1,037 | £1,064 | £1,038 | £1,023 | £1,001 | £842 | £987 | £934 |
| INSULATION | £927 | £1,300 | £848 | £901 | £840 | £980 | £721 | £790 |
| JOINERY | £801 | - | £810 | £775 | £836 | £635 | £681 | £763 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,824 | £1,061 | £1,855 | £1,826 | £1,558 | £1,532 | £1,334 | £1,378 |
| PLASTERING | £827 | £829 | £939 | £848 | £760 | £639 | £723 | £751 |
| PLUMBING | £882 | £978 | £1,240 | £1,339 | £1,072 | £956 | £968 | £973 |
| ROOFING | £934 | £1,125 | £937 | £932 | £844 | £642 | £729 | £695 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £860 | £1,052 | £778 | £848 | £785 | £518 | £678 | £728 |
| SHOP FITTING | £692 | - | £1,763 | £1,011 | £1,171 | £982 | £823 | £662 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £828 | £1,048 | £980 | £853 | £902 | £795 | £817 | £811 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £968 | - | £617 | £890 | £673 | £678 | £537 | £645 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £948 | £1,261 | £975 | £982 | £894 | £714 | £805 | £806 |
West Midlands
| WEST MIDLANDS | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £975 | £1,210 | £879 | £866 | £716 | £728 | £969 | £884 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £987 | £1,096 | £925 | £1,003 | £821 | £652 | £866 | £858 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £657 | £1,009 | £676 | £681 | £779 | £758 | £599 | £642 |
| ELECTRICAL | £1,245 | £927 | £1,423 | £1,279 | £1,120 | £1,143 | £1,126 | £1,217 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £948 | £1,238 | £920 | £952 | £761 | £764 | £811 | £828 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £915 | £1,115 | £1,125 | £957 | £789 | £620 | £809 | £813 |
| INSULATION | £845 | £1,859 | £762 | £861 | £733 | £888 | £1,034 | £775 |
| JOINERY | £1,124 | £689 | £1,256 | £1,070 | £644 | £706 | £1,026 | £1,114 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,574 | £649 | £1,540 | £1,863 | £992 | £1,074 | £1,960 | £1,306 |
| PLASTERING | £635 | £699 | £745 | £629 | £747 | £636 | £711 | £700 |
| PLUMBING | £1,183 | £699 | £1,484 | £1,151 | £789 | £945 | £1,043 | £748 |
| ROOFING | £578 | £1,076 | £596 | £578 | £677 | £439 | £531 | £539 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £634 | £1,233 | £720 | £673 | £544 | £608 | £653 | £646 |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,239 | £630 | £1,597 | £1,223 | £1,132 | £493 | £1,262 | £1,611 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £1,022 | £1,062 | £733 | £1,012 | £787 | £744 | £799 | £926 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £853 | £1,009 | £697 | £790 | £961 | £685 | £677 | £708 |
Wales
| WALES | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £767 | £957 | £769 | £781 | £766 | £682 | £759 | £778 |
| ELECTRICAL | £918 | £882 | £894 | £991 | £990 | - | £966 | £406 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £1,263 | £766 | £1,760 | £1,193 | £1,578 | £1,300 | £1,308 | £1,300 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £907 | £905 | £875 | £915 | £892 | £712 | £825 | £800 |
| JOINERY | £953 | - | £569 | £429 | £530 | £638 | - | - |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | - | - | £662 | £689 | £762 | £411 | £580 | £427 |
| PLASTERING | £1,505 | £585 | £1,260 | £1,365 | £1,225 | - | £1,400 | £1,260 |
| PLUMBING | £914 | £1,445 | £870 | £986 | £971 | £720 | £592 | £859 |
| ROOFING | £551 | £836 | £467 | £550 | £509 | £366 | £607 | - |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £730 | £814 | £688 | £691 | £621 | £477 | £520 | £556 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £812 | £959 | £810 | £867 | £910 | £583 | £791 | £795 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £1,002 | £705 | £749 | £659 | £909 | £436 | £980 | £840 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £1,185 | £982 | £1,320 | £733 | £1,392 | £795 | £600 | - |
East of England
| EAST OF ENGLAND | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £804 | £1,435 | £783 | £791 | £737 | £666 | £738 | £680 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £959 | £1,307 | £979 | £978 | £912 | £575 | £829 | £784 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £781 | £942 | £831 | £836 | £790 | £715 | £714 | £713 |
| ELECTRICAL | £1,451 | £709 | £1,476 | £1,465 | £1,492 | £1,174 | £1,295 | £1,344 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £908 | £953 | £1,032 | £985 | £966 | £744 | £928 | £931 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £962 | £848 | £943 | £973 | £911 | £765 | £857 | £851 |
| INSULATION | £1,012 | £905 | £936 | £997 | £937 | £684 | £1,047 | £952 |
| JOINERY | £1,200 | £955 | £1,363 | £1,264 | £1,247 | £1,527 | £884 | £1,168 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,181 | £829 | £1,155 | £1,067 | £1,063 | £787 | £920 | £1,102 |
| PLASTERING | £872 | £943 | £887 | £879 | £969 | £853 | £1,013 | £815 |
| PLUMBING | £1,324 | £1,120 | £1,420 | £1,306 | £1,298 | £1,079 | £979 | £1,039 |
| ROOFING | £806 | £970 | £777 | £814 | £851 | £740 | £755 | £796 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £918 | £977 | £903 | £914 | £793 | £711 | £730 | £745 |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,192 | £708 | £1,095 | £1,698 | £1,492 | £1,486 | £1,133 | £1,424 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £819 | £1,055 | £832 | £843 | £775 | £584 | £736 | £754 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £686 | - | £639 | £728 | £697 | £392 | £780 | £641 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £735 | £907 | £706 | £741 | £670 | £459 | £623 | £626 |
London
| LONDON | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £750 | £1,042 | £714 | £750 | £704 | £643 | £741 | £746 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £840 | £1,121 | £821 | £838 | £830 | £635 | £798 | £806 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £808 | £885 | - | - | - | - | - | £651 |
| ELECTRICAL | £1,023 | £929 | £1,297 | £1,075 | £966 | £730 | £807 | £1,037 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £765 | £978 | £867 | £812 | £894 | £531 | £671 | £681 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £1,068 | £868 | £1,229 | £1,104 | £1,105 | £935 | £924 | £1,012 |
| INSULATION | £896 | £517 | £1,710 | £765 | £806 | £1,370 | £711 | £872 |
| JOINERY | £1,158 | £1,763 | £1,173 | £1,170 | £963 | £789 | £643 | £767 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £991 | £1,024 | £1,290 | £942 | £918 | £925 | £1,040 | £1,185 |
| PLASTERING | £695 | £878 | £643 | £779 | £743 | - | - | - |
| PLUMBING | £1,117 | £914 | £1,489 | £1,204 | £1,158 | £914 | £1,161 | £1,158 |
| ROOFING | £916 | £1,001 | £838 | £937 | £879 | £766 | £722 | £858 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £1,033 | £1,107 | £1,012 | £961 | £836 | £727 | £820 | £908 |
| SHOP FITTING | £838 | £1,549 | £1,984 | £809 | £766 | £947 | £1,244 | £1,101 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £1,122 | £1,124 | £1,079 | £1,100 | £973 | £934 | £924 | £973 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £582 | - | £823 | £669 | £662 | £776 | £700 | £1,047 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £575 | £817 | £467 | £525 | £500 | - | - | £566 |
South East
| SOUTH EAST | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £820 | £1,234 | £778 | £798 | £726 | £650 | £846 | £943 |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £828 | £1,192 | £841 | £836 | £816 | £589 | £753 | £785 |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £1,241 | £905 | £1,031 | £1,221 | £1,207 | £1,012 | £1,070 | £1,188 |
| ELECTRICAL | £1,318 | £1,138 | £1,481 | £1,337 | £1,447 | £950 | £1,191 | £1,220 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £870 | £869 | £891 | £933 | £908 | £722 | £803 | £777 |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £889 | £1,014 | £925 | £899 | £835 | £767 | £831 | £842 |
| INSULATION | - | £369 | £950 | £950 | £997 | £712 | £902 | £902 |
| JOINERY | £1,042 | £693 | £1,120 | £1,028 | £950 | £929 | £1,065 | £1,206 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,061 | £842 | £1,497 | £1,099 | £1,058 | £654 | £1,193 | £1,051 |
| PLASTERING | £683 | £970 | £777 | £775 | £739 | £325 | £673 | £727 |
| PLUMBING | £1,111 | £861 | £1,286 | £1,118 | £918 | £1,004 | £781 | £940 |
| ROOFING | £799 | £1,011 | £786 | £775 | £719 | £614 | £708 | £751 |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £834 | £949 | £810 | £844 | £796 | £625 | £666 | £674 |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,357 | £676 | £1,171 | £1,264 | £1,321 | £827 | £1,972 | £1,096 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £872 | £1,067 | £867 | £881 | £820 | £1,068 | £742 | £747 |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £766 | £1,210 | £782 | £807 | £786 | £664 | £723 | £762 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £946 | £997 | £804 | £960 | £879 | £768 | £594 | £609 |
South West
| SOUTH WEST | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | Jan-20 | Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £1,474 | £949 | £1,289 | £1,735 | £1,615 | £726 | £540 | - |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £808 | £832 | £757 | £800 | £768 | £608 | £775 | £722 |
| ELECTRICAL | £750 | £720 | £822 | £779 | £744 | £585 | £655 | £719 |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £676 | £820 | £891 | £938 | £937 | £862 | - | - |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £862 | £871 | £978 | £876 | £829 | £744 | £854 | £848 |
| INSULATION | £1,243 | £848 | £1,260 | £1,300 | £1,262 | £1,125 | £1,201 | £1,442 |
| JOINERY | £1,076 | £1,386 | £1,321 | £1,155 | £1,036 | £723 | £898 | £1,018 |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £687 | £934 | £657 | £723 | £713 | £437 | £678 | £726 |
| PLASTERING | £809 | £1,138 | £677 | £682 | £591 | £531 | £687 | £703 |
| PLUMBING | £1,764 | £932 | £1,335 | £1,750 | £1,650 | £699 | - | £1,729 |
| ROOFING | £856 | £798 | £760 | £847 | £787 | £527 | £772 | £784 |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £740 | £996 | £1,253 | £424 | £999 | £656 | £774 | £1,096 |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £654 | £913 | £683 | £676 | £664 | £574 | £607 | £591 |