Construction Market Data

Fri March 29 2024

Related Information

Sub-contractor Pay Trends September 2017

Hudson Contract delivers the most accurate indications of pay trends across the construction industry, using payroll data for over 2,200 construction companies to publish the average pay for a spectrum of 17 different trades now split across 10 regions.

There was a noticeable drop in earnings in September of just over two per cent, or £17 a week, with freelance builders in the North West particularly hard hit. Earnings in the region have plummeted by more than 5 per cent, which equates to a drop of £40 a week. Only the East Midlands has bucked the trend, with a modest 1 per cent increase on last months.

“It’s an amber light, for sure,” says Hudson Contract Managing Director Ian Anfield.  “And our data is also indicative of the national picture. While it’s never good for anyone to see a downward trend, September earnings have dropped for the past three years, ahead of a strong finish to the end of the year. So let’s not panic just yet.”

National Weekly Average Earnings, September 2017:  £835

Region September 2017 average Change August 2017
North East £710.00 -4.23%
North West £751.00 -5.19%
Yorkshire & Humber £778.00 -3.21%
East Midlands £874.00 +0.80%
West Midlands £857.00 -2.22%
Wales £757.00 -2.25%
East of England £908.00 -2.42%
London £835.00 -1.56%
South East £851.00 -0.71%
South West £757.00 -0.40%

This month’s winners are:

  • Shop fitting:  +3.3%

Another strong month

  • Roofing+0.6%

Wales doing particularly well
And the losers:

  • Plasterers:  -8.8%

Losses in East of England despite gains in London

  • Steel & Timber Frame Erection:  -7.6%

Down for the second successive month
Specialist Trades:  -6.2%
Yorkshire & Humber light on work

Meanwhile, the latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has fallen to 48.1.

“That’s significant,” Ian Anfield observes. “Anything below 50 signifies negative growth, and this is the first time it’s happened since the referendum.  September has been a difficult month for all in construction.  New projects have failed to materialise to replace completed contracts.” 

Of construction’s three sectors, civil engineering has been worst affected with the steepest fall in activity for four and half years.  Commercial is down too, leaving house building as the only sector that continued to expand – although at its slowest rate for six months.

“There’s no point pretending anyone is happy about this,” Ian Anfield concludes.  “But despite the uncertainty that continues to surround British politics in general and Brexit in particular, compared to this time last year, earnings in all regions are up.  The final quarter of the year is going to be extremely important in terms of understanding where the industry – and the country – is going in economic terms.”

North East

NORTH EAST Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £865  £820  £824  £814
ELECTRICAL  £610  £704  £697  £666
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £393  £602  £537
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £719  £703  £762  £736
INSULATION  £674  £650  £722  £636
PLASTERING  £643  £651  £696  £631
ROOFING  £653  £524  £571  £497
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £372  £409  £401  £421
SHOP FITTING  £807  £547  £596  £554
SPECIALIST TRADES  £604  £632  £636  £663

North West

NORTH WEST Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £719  £742  £776  £696
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £712  £761  £763  £731
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £776  £777  £792  £797
ELECTRICAL  £804  £814  £917  £845
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £787  £823  £794  £723
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £776  £777  £802  £754
INSULATION  £1,250  £1,373  £1,459  £1,002
JOINERY  £774  £851  £892  £778
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £543  £587  £633  £638
PLASTERING  £462  £776  £730  £612
PLUMBING  £686  £660  £735  £765
ROOFING  £814  £823  £786  £791
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £533  £606  £589  £581
SHOP FITTING  £1,079  £983  £1,155  £1,065
SPECIALIST TRADES  £718  £696  £793  £791
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £743  £662  £599  £596
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £614  £710  £691  £706

Yorkshire & Humber

YORKSHIRE & HUMBER Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £629  £644  £733  £680
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £701  £726  £735  £719
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £516  £588  £540  £520
ELECTRICAL  £769  £828  £787  £849
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £969  £958  £992  £993
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £755  £761  £783  £767
JOINERY  £844  £873  £884  £901
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £966  £942  £959  £849
PLASTERING  £660  £682  £717  £669
PLUMBING  £674  £675  £671  £627
ROOFING  £667  £674  £675  £703
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £491  £510  £518  £531
SHOP FITTING  £1,067  £1,099  £1,144  £1,177
SPECIALIST TRADES  £893  £971  £994  £867
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £1,042  £894  £1,089  £866
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £856  £818  £897  £866

East Midlands

EAST MIDLANDS Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £749  £765  £776  £766
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £657  £691  £721  £698
ELECTRICAL  £979  £1,002  £1,075  £1,091
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £855  £941  £1,002  £881
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £983  £1,002  £974  £1,016
INSULATION  £718  £735  £754  £763
JOINERY  £786  £797  £750  £765
PLASTERING  £700  £730  £768  £693
PLUMBING  £900  £945  £984  £931
ROOFING  £948  £844  £873  £901
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £705  £763  £755  £777
SHOP FITTING  £1,326  £1,213  £1,246  £1,486
SPECIALIST TRADES  £823  £859  £999  £945
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £1,120  £1,221  £1,279  £1,204
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £806  £865  £838  £829

West Midlands

WEST MIDLANDS Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £810  £659  £453  £387
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £844  £880  £874  £852
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £736  £705  £686  £655
ELECTRICAL  £1,066  £1,104  £1,094  £1,093
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £872  £943  £954  £853
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £859  £873  £840  £836
INSULATION  £791  £763  £758  £757
JOINERY  £754  £780  £786  £831
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £716  £769  £1,448  £1,499
PLASTERING  £642  £672  £680  £649
PLUMBING  £1,183  £1,223  £1,142  £1,249
ROOFING  £470  £531  £520  £501
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £712  £660  £927  £838
SHOP FITTING  £1,136  £1,363  £1,490  £1,384
SPECIALIST TRADES  £861  £986  £986  £945
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £731  £797  £784  £758

Wales

WALES Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £662  £717  £750  £726
ELECTRICAL  £617  £690  £673  £767
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £1,175  £1,282  £1,161  £1,126
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £769  £828  £853  £799
JOINERY  £392  £825  £479  £533
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £426  £326  £529  £530
PLASTERING  £1,050  £953  £1,290  £1,200
PLUMBING  £804  £849  £855  £856
ROOFING  £523  £509  £493  £533
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £603  £683  £666  £673
SPECIALIST TRADES  £754  £715  £636  £710
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £623  £607  £704  £650
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £1,142  £1,472  £1,233  £1,239

East of England

EAST OF ENGLAND Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £682  £751  £735  £715
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £814  £864  £851  £835
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £686  £648  £690  £654
ELECTRICAL  £1,287  £1,300  £1,282  £1,242
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £968  £945  £971  £950
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £849  £877  £889  £867
INSULATION  £1,238  £1,217  £1,157  £1,142
JOINERY  £1,282  £1,216  £1,243  £1,175
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £1,080  £1,068  £1,034  £976
PLASTERING  £1,022  £1,041  £1,013  £869
PLUMBING  £1,377  £1,363  £1,399  £1,373
ROOFING  £724  £767  £780  £767
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £809  £826  £813  £810
SHOP FITTING  £1,205  £1,169  £1,065  £1,264
SPECIALIST TRADES  £923  £980  £932  £952
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £721  £695  £729  £638
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £668  £708  £686  £698

London

LONDON Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £683  £738  £716  £714
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £756  £785  £783  £775
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £956  £771  £484  £1,135
ELECTRICAL  £969  £1,000  £924  £973
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £753  £1,250  £938  £938
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £922  £948  £920  £904
INSULATION  £758  £1,017  £925  £983
JOINERY  £907  £1,106  £1,138  £1,050
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £1,087  £1,159  £1,106  £1,095
PLASTERING  £849  £615  £758  £1,071
PLUMBING  £856  £931  £928  £918
ROOFING  £636  £699  £697  £682
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £1,126  £1,121  £1,106  £1,064
SHOP FITTING  £718  £881  £688  £856
SPECIALIST TRADES  £973  £1,056  £1,011  £987
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £735  £794  £718  £712
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £500  £500  £550  £463

South East

SOUTH EAST Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £726  £779  £765  £753
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £725  £743  £735  £729
DEMOLITION & WRECKING  £1,170  £1,187  £1,187  £1,227
ELECTRICAL  £1,122  £1,133  £1,099  £1,110
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £759  £791  £796  £769
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £801  £841  £831  £817
INSULATION  £808  £675  £675  £695
JOINERY  £980  £1,001  £960  £1,010
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £1,076  £1,021  £978  £1,085
PLASTERING  £748  £690  £751  £677
PLUMBING  £1,024  £1,073  £1,032  £993
ROOFING  £668  £723  £704  £727
SCAFFOLDING & LIFTING  £770  £782  £774  £765
SHOP FITTING  £1,268  £1,315  £1,224  £1,336
SPECIALIST TRADES  £810  £892  £864  £776
STEEL & TIMBER FRAME ERECTION  £687  £783  £744  £676
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £787  £797  £774  £750

South West

SOUTH WEST Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
BRICKLAYING  £440  £500  £500  £500
CIVIL ENGINEERING  £682  £711  £694  £690
ELECTRICAL  £708  £717  £756  £726
EQUIPMENT & OPERATOR HIRE  £571  £576  £568  £581
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION  £808  £819  £817  £788
INSULATION  £1,224  £1,289  £1,259  £1,309
JOINERY  £1,071  £1,067  £945  £1,011
MECHANICAL & ENGINEERING  £637  £594  £655  £672
PLASTERING  £821  £779  £760  £730
PLUMBING  £1,025  £1,435  £1,269  £1,210
ROOFING  £762  £766  £794  £740
SPECIALIST TRADES  £1,175  £851  £855  £821
SURFACING CONTRACTORS  £645  £676  £644  £638