Construction labour rates show strong year-on-year growth despite seasonal dip

Hudson says industry order books have proven more resilient than media headlines might suggest.

Labour rates in construction showed robust annual growth despite expected seasonal declines in January, according to Hudson’s latest analysis.

Average weekly earnings for self-employed tradespeople reached £985 in January 2025, marking a significant 8.6 per cent increase compared to January 2024's figure of £907. However, in line with typical seasonal patterns due to holidays and bad weather, January 2025 earnings saw a 7.5 per cent month-on-month decrease from December 2024.

The January slowdown varied significantly across trades. Surfacing contractors saw the steepest decline at 14.7 per cent, followed by bricklaying at 13.2 per cent, largely due to adverse weather conditions including heavy rain, snow and a named storm that affected outdoor work and cement-based activities. Other trades proved more resilient to the seasonal dip, with equipment and operator hire seeing only a 2 per cent reduction, while insulation and plumbing limited their decreases to 3.8 per cent.

Commenting on the findings, our managing director Ian Anfield said: "January is historically slower due to a staggered return to work. Tradespeople typically maximise their hours in December to boost earnings before Christmas, knowing they'll have a couple of weeks off afterward. This year's challenging weather conditions particularly hit outdoor trades – you can't work with anything that's got water in it when you've got heavy rain, snow and low temperatures, which is why bricklayers were hit harder than plumbers who can work inside or are busy fixing boilers.”

Ian added the strong year-on-year growth was likely a combination of sustained demand and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers. He said: "We're also seeing that tight household budgets mean people are less likely to take extended breaks during bad weather – they're keen to get back to earning. And importantly, order books have proven more resilient than media headlines might suggest with the housing sector still building, albeit with phased plot releases on some schemes that a couple of years ago would have been sold out off-plan.”