1st January 2013 | Hudson Contract
Hudson Contract delivers the most accurate indications of pay trends across the construction industry, using payroll data for over 2,000 construction companies and over 100,000 freelance builders to publish the average pay for the full spectrum of 17 different trades across five regions.
December’s earning show something of a ‘Christmas bonus’ for freelance builders across the country, with all five regions showing higher earnings on three months previous.
The North-West and South-East lead the way with increases of 3.4% and 3.8% respectively. And in terms of hard cash, labour-only subbies in the South-East had the highest earnings of all, averaging £667 a week.
There were plenty of double digit earning increases around the country, with notable ‘winners’ including:
- Insulation in the South-West: +12%
- Surfacing Contractors in the South-East: +13%
- Shopfitters in the North-East: +13%
- Bricklayers in the Midlands: +14%
- Civil Engineers in the North-West: +15%
Bricklaying – regarded as the barometer of the construction industry – catches the eye, because although times are good in the Midlands, brickies in the North of England are some of this month’s ‘biggest losers’:
- Those in the North-West and the North-East both saw weekly earnings plummet by £98 a week in December.
- The falls mean bricklayers in the North-West and North-East were amongst the lowest earners anywhere, earning £382 and £432 respectively.
- This compares with average weekly December earnings for all trades across all regions of £629.
- Earnings for bricklayers in the South of England were more or less unchanged.
Lean times ahead?
Comments Hudson Contract Managing Director David Jackson: “The broad upwards regional trend is good news, especially at this time of year. But when you look at what’s happening with bricklayers, it’s a reminder that the outlook for the construction industry as a whole remains at best uncertain.
"We need a kick start in 2013 to help get confidence back in the industry. Until then, it is prudent to prepare for continuing lean times ahead."
NORTH EAST
| Last Month | 3 months ago | % change | |
| Bricklaying | £432.27 | £529.61 | -18.38% |
| Civil Engineering | £567.60 | £579.34 | -2.03% |
| Demolition | £379.81 | £340.62 | 11.51% |
| Electrical | £684.21 | £629.15 | 8.75% |
| Equipment & Operator hire | £602.34 | £547.96 | 9.92% |
| Fit out by specialist trades | £721.86 | £751.07 | -3.89% |
| General Construction | £604.23 | £581.86 | 3.84% |
| Insulation | £621.91 | £608.56 | 2.19% |
| Joinery | £538.94 | £609.71 | -11.61% |
| Mechanical | £668.75 | £634.33 | 5.43% |
| Plastering | £551.12 | £491.11 | 12.22% |
| Plumbing | £639.67 | £568.32 | 12.55% |
| Roofing | £572.96 | £618.72 | -7.40% |
| Scaffolding | £437.51 | £442.95 | -1.23% |
| Shopfitting | £889.37 | £785.77 | 13.18% |
| Steel & Timber frame erect | £649.02 | £652.06 | -0.47% |
| Surfacing contractors | £619.17 | £598.14 | 3.52% |
| Average | £598.87 | £586.43 | 2.12% |
NORTH WEST
| Last Month | 3 months ago | % change | |
| Bricklaying | £382.43 | £480.73 | -20.45% |
| Civil Engineering | £671.07 | £582.69 | 15.17% |
| Demolition | £733.97 | £674.09 | 8.88% |
| Electrical | £759.69 | £821.88 | -7.57% |
| Equipment & Operator hire | £648.18 | £662.22 | -2.12% |
| Fit out by specialist trades | £724.03 | £630.04 | 14.92% |
| General Construction | £621.29 | £572.72 | 8.48% |
| Insulation | £653.86 | £623.01 | 4.95% |
| Joinery | £610.70 | £603.46 | 1.20% |
| Mechanical | £499.73 | £561.75 | -11.04% |
| Plastering | £512.50 | £445.66 | 15.00% |
| Plumbing | £624.68 | £608.98 | 2.58% |
| Roofing | £752.97 | £712.76 | 5.64% |
| Scaffolding | £459.29 | £435.74 | 5.40% |
| Shopfitting | £818.83 | £714.97 | 14.53% |
| Steel & Timber frame erect | £618.26 | £605.65 | 2.08% |
| Surfacing contractors | £591.65 | £595.01 | -0.56% |
| Average | £628.42 | £607.73 | 3.40% |
MIDLANDS
| Last Month | 3 months ago | % change | |
| Bricklaying | £541.08 | £474.71 | 13.98% |
| Civil Engineering | £693.80 | £638.45 | 8.67% |
| Demolition | £587.20 | £538.16 | 9.11% |
| Electrical | £649.86 | £742.68 | -12.50% |
| Equipment & Operator hire | £508.41 | £549.24 | -7.43% |
| Fit out by specialist trades | £528.86 | £540.20 | -2.10% |
| General Construction | £614.18 | £584.03 | 5.16% |
| Insulation | £665.35 | £615.33 | 8.13% |
| Joinery | £679.56 | £682.97 | -0.50% |
| Mechanical | £704.04 | £770.90 | -8.67% |
| Plastering | £519.97 | £549.60 | -5.39% |
| Plumbing | £547.73 | £551.96 | -0.77% |
| Roofing | £529.71 | £470.68 | 12.54% |
| Scaffolding | £502.57 | £549.59 | -8.56% |
| Shopfitting | £921.77 | £807.93 | 14.09% |
| Steel & Timber frame erect | £662.29 | £639.27 | 3.60% |
| Surfacing contractors | £653.01 | £631.10 | 3.47% |
| Average | £618.20 | £608.05 | 1.67% |
SOUTH EAST
| Last Month | 3 months ago | % change | |
| Bricklaying | £550.86 | £552.52 | -0.30% |
| Civil Engineering | £703.62 | £646.37 | 8.86% |
| Demolition | £459.12 | £417.47 | 9.98% |
| Electrical | £703.60 | £688.72 | 2.16% |
| Equipment & Operator hire | £737.32 | £684.35 | 7.74% |
| Fit out by specialist trades | £687.48 | £601.55 | 14.28% |
| General Construction | £660.14 | £622.61 | 6.03% |
| Insulation | £741.69 | £724.98 | 2.30% |
| Joinery | £675.47 | £683.44 | -1.17% |
| Mechanical | £694.66 | £691.33 | 0.48% |
| Plastering | £588.10 | £650.65 | -9.61% |
| Plumbing | £803.35 | £797.97 | 0.67% |
| Roofing | £624.80 | £628.53 | -0.59% |
| Scaffolding | £635.07 | £619.29 | 2.55% |
| Shopfitting | £910.70 | £846.68 | 7.56% |
| Steel & Timber frame erect | £583.77 | £551.99 | 5.76% |
| Surfacing contractors | £585.30 | £516.60 | 13.30% |
| Average | £667.36 | £642.65 | 3.84% |
SOUTH WEST
| Last Month | 3 months ago | % change | |
| Bricklaying | £414.39 | £409.93 | 1.09% |
| Civil Engineering | £564.03 | £522.71 | 7.90% |
| Demolition | £651.74 | £600.37 | 8.56% |
| Electrical | £625.24 | £584.42 | 6.98% |
| Equipment & Operator hire | £567.17 | £592.45 | -4.27% |
| Fit out by specialist trades | £790.46 | £742.08 | 6.52% |
| General Construction | £612.14 | £657.06 | -6.84% |
| Insulation | £610.54 | £645.69 | -5.44% |
| Joinery | £458.75 | £407.60 | 12.55% |
| Mechanical | £633.75 | £685.00 | -7.48% |
| Plastering | £691.90 | £712.55 | -2.90% |
| Plumbing | £682.21 | £712.16 | -4.21% |
| Roofing | £639.26 | £572.79 | 11.60% |
| Scaffolding | £645.48 | £600.16 | 7.55% |
| Shopfitting | £992.10 | £924.21 | 7.35% |
| Steel & Timber frame erect | £668.18 | £666.50 | 0.25% |
| Surfacing contractors | £536.68 | £548.39 | -2.14% |
| Average | £634.35 | £622.59 | 1.89% |
Hudson Contract’s ‘window on the construction industry’ gives you hard figures and data that is not available from any other source, with pay averages that reflect the amounts paid by a sample number of businesses – large and small – to specific trades over the twelve weeks to 31st December 2012.
To get the latest pay stats before anyone else, sign-up to Hudson Contract eNews below
