Audit and payroll company Hudson Contract made 146,700 payments to tradespeople on its books in October, an increase of 6.6% on September
Across England, average earnings increased month-on-month by 1.7% to £890 per week, although as always there were substantial regional variations. (See table below.)
The best-performing regions for earnings growth last month were the East Midlands (up 8.9%) and the East of England (up 4%). London and the South East saw pay fall.
Average weekly earnings were at their highest in East of England, reaching £987.
Managing director Ian Anfield said: “Our clients are telling us they have full order books and that demand for skilled trades continues to outstrip supply. Our clients say it will be business as usual up to Christmas in spite of the new lockdown.
“Some clients report the extension of the self-employed support scheme could encourage people to stay at home, but that the vast majority of tradespeople are working and don’t want to be sitting at home on support schemes.
“We welcome the extra clarity from ministers that construction workplaces should stay open during the next four weeks. They have confirmed that builders merchants and estate agents will continue to trade and tradespeople will be able to enter homes.
“There is plenty of work around. The government has committed to a lot of infrastructure spending and new projects are being announced every day. Measures such as Help to Buy, the stamp duty holiday and relaxed planning laws are supporting a buoyant housebuilding sector.
“Looking to next year, the end of free movement will cause disruption but countering that is reduced demand in January and February. Construction could struggle as stimulus packages like help to buy and the stamp duty holiday come to an end around March/April.”
| Region | October 2020 average | Month-on-month % change | Year-on-year % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East | £754 | 1.1% | -3.2% |
| North West | £875 | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £838 | 2.4% | -1.4% |
| East Midlands | £928 | 8.9% | -0.3% |
| West Midlands | £915 | 1.0% | -6.7% |
| Wales | £892 | 1.0% | 11.6% |
| East of England | £987 | 4.0% | 4.4% |
| London | £849 | -0.4% | -4.4% |
| South East | £927 | -1.8% | 0.8% |
| South West | £850 | 1.7% | 1.8% |
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