Average weekly earnings for self-employed tradespeople increased by 1.5% to £927 during October 2021.
Hudson Contract is the UK’s largest provider of tax status and employment contract services to the industry and has a client base of more than 2,500 construction SMEs.
Managing director Ian Anfield said: “We are seeing a gradual return to normality in the industry with demand for labour mirroring seasonal trends seen before the pandemic. The period from September to December is traditionally the busiest period with tradespeople doing as much work as they can before the festive break and the cold weather.
“Our figures suggest the industry is steadily recovering its labour capacity. It could be that some of the lower-skilled guys found it easier to drive delivery vans than work on building sites but they are slowly coming back. It could also be that some of the higher-skilled guys have been collecting the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and were working off-grid or have just taken some time off, so the end of the scheme will see them return to sites.
“We can see that labour rates are starting to level off. There is a lot of activity, people are coming back to work and moving themselves around the country.”
The comments are in line with the latest construction purchasing managers' survey which suggested the worst phase of the supply crunch may have passed.
Mr Anfield added: “The housing market is showing no signs of letting up with the average price of a new home hitting £250,000 despite the end of the stamp duty holiday. House-builders are waiting to see whether any interest rate rises will affect activity but fundamentally there is strong pent-up demand for new housing and renovation projects and the government is ploughing ahead with new infrastructure and regeneration schemes.”
| TRADE | Sep-21 | Oct-21 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRICKLAYING | £ 939 | £ 975 | 3.9% |
| CIVIL ENGINEERING | £ 854 | £ 896 | 5.0% |
| DEMOLITION & WRECKING | £ 818 | £ 897 | 9.7% |
| ELECTRICAL | £ 1,092 | £ 1,106 | 1.3% |
| EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE | £ 910 | £ 966 | 6.1% |
| GENERAL CONSTRUCTION | £ 937 | £ 956 | 2.0% |
| INSULATION | £ 901 | £ 948 | 5.2% |
| JOINERY | £ 997 | £ 1,019 | 2.3% |
| MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING | £ 1,070 | £ 1,039 | -2.9% |
| PLASTERING | £ 786 | £ 794 | 1.1% |
| PLUMBING | £ 1,021 | £ 1,002 | -1.9% |
| ROOFING | £ 759 | £ 728 | -4.0% |
| SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING | £ 777 | £ 771 | -0.7% |
| SHOP FITTING | £ 1,085 | £ 1,115 | 2.7% |
| SPECIALIST TRADES | £ 850 | £ 871 | 2.5% |
| STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION | £ 863 | £ 838 | -2.9% |
| SURFACING CONTRACTORS | £ 860 | £ 856 | -0.5% |
| Region | October 2021 average | Month on month % Change | Year on year % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | £792 | 1.3% | 5.0% |
| Northwest | £848 | -4.4% | -3.1% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £880 | 9.3% | 5.0% |
| East Midlands | £974 | -3.8% | 5.0% |
| West Midlands | £931 | 1.5% | 1.7% |
| Wales | £939 | 0.8% | 5.3% |
| East | £997 | 1.4% | 1.0% |
| London | £946 | 0.9% | 11.4% |
| Southeast | £974 | 3.9% | 5.1% |
| Southwest | £909 | 7.1% | 7.0% |
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