Hudson Contract said average weekly earnings for self-employed tradespeople in construction fell by 6.9% in April, compared to March, down from £959 to £893.
Earnings were also 2.2% lower in April 2022 than they were in April 2021.
Earnings reached in March this year matched the record high seen in December – the equivalent to an annual salary of approximately £50,000.
Ian Anfield, managing director of Hudson Contract, said: “As expected, earnings for April were impacted as freelancers took their families away for a long-awaited holiday with the lifting of Covid travel restrictions across many European short-haul destinations and plenty of good deals on offer. The well-publicised queues at Manchester airport and tailbacks outside Dover will have been full of self-employed tradespeople heading off for some early season sunshine. Well-paid subbies took a well-earned break after doing so much to keep the wider economy going over the last two years.”
The East Midlands saw the biggest monthly dip in earnings (down 13.7%) followed by the Northeast (down 11.2%) and Wales (down 9.1%). Shop fitters were the only trade to increase their earnings, which rose by 0.8% to £1,105 per week.
Average weekly earnings by region
| April 2022 average | Month on month change | Year on year change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | £674 | -11.2% | -8.2% |
| Northwest | £859 | -5.4% | -0.3% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £864 | -7.7% | 5.8% |
| East Midlands | £923 | -13.7% | -1.6% |
| West Midlands | £909 | -2.5% | 2.2% |
| Wales | £812 | -9.1% | 5.9% |
| East of England | £953 | -4.3% | 0.1% |
| London | £937 | -8.8% | 10.6% |
| Southeast | £944 | -6.1% | 3.6% |
| Southwest | £913 | -2.2% | -6.9% |
Average weekly earnings by trade
| March 22 | April 22 | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £960 | £832 | -13.3% |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £891 | £822 | -7.8% |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £938 | £836 | -10.8% |
| ELECTRICAL | £1,118 | £1,031 | -7.8% |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £912 | £835 | -8.4% |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £998 | £939 | -5.9% |
| INSULATION | £980 | £917 | -6.5% |
| JOINERY | £1,052 | £1,021 | -3.0% |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £1,037 | £1,019 | -1.8% |
| PLASTERING | £857 | £806 | -6.0% |
| PLUMBING | £1,139 | £1,028 | -9.8% |
| ROOFING | £790 | £759 | -3.9% |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £817 | £787 | -3.7% |
| SHOP FITTING | £1,096 | £1,105 | 0.8% |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £892 | £806 | -9.6% |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £979 | £794 | -18.9% |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £882 | £831 | -5.8% |
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