It pays to work in construction, as wages have risen for five consecutive quarters amidst the renewed push to build more homes, the Hays/BCIS Site Wage Cost Indices shows.
The greatest annual growth in earnings was seen in skilled mechanical and electrical trade placements, with pay rising by 14.8% year-on-year.
Construction site wages in the UK rose by 2.4% quarter-on-quarter and 4.6% annually in the second quarter of 2024.
Paul Burrows, BCIS solutions architect, said: “As the numbers of placements continue to fall across the board, whilst pay rises in line with wage agreements, it looks as though the market is suffering from a shortage of skilled workers.
“This is likely to be exacerbated as workers leave the industry, especially with the retirement of older workers who aren’t being replaced.
“Construction output fell again in 2Q 2024, which has been a mitigating factor against the effects of a shrinking workforce.
“New orders data though, which is a snapshot of potential future work, showed another significant increase in the second quarter, up by 16.5% on 1Q 2024, boosted mainly by private commercial and infrastructure new work.
“If those orders translate into output, that may mark the point where skill shortages really start to constrain new activity, and I would expect to see upwards pressure on wages. It will be interesting to see if numbers of placements start to rise towards the year-end and, if they do, whether increased demand pushes up wages.”
