Hudson Contract said that average weekly pay rose month-on-month by 1.2% during November to 拢901, the highest level since February.
The best-performing regions for earnings growth were the northeast (up 8.4%), London (up 6.8%) and the southwest (up 5.3%).
Hudson managing director Ian Anfield said: 鈥淚t was business as usual for most construction firms last month as they continued to operate through the lockdown. Skilled workers who want to work are working. Others are staying at home and claiming the government鈥檚 self-employment income support scheme. Most of our clients are reporting a decent amount of activity and have already secured projects for next year.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭he housebuilding sector remains buoyant with support measures due to continue into the first quarter of 2021 and the government is committed to new infrastructure spending.鈥�
Mr Anfield added that demand for labour on building sites has flattened off at 90% of pre-Covid levels.
The recovery in demand which started in the summer 鈥渞eached the top of the V鈥� in November, he said, and is now in a seasonal cycle ahead of the festive period.
However, some employers report labour rates are rising much more steeply. Last week we reported that British & Irish Trading Alliance (BITA) saying that too many construction workers were choosing to stay home. It said that the government鈥檚 decision to extend the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme until the end of March 2021 and increase grants from 55% to 80% of earnings has been bad news for the construction industry. BITA member James Coffey, chairman of J Coffey Construction, said: 鈥淎s you can imagine the prospect of receiving up to 80% of income whilst remaining safely at home and without the requirement of traveling and working, proved extremely attractive to a lot of workers. We noticed quite rapidly this impacted our ability to deliver projects and quickly drove up our labour rates by over 25%.鈥�
| Region | November 2020 Average | Month on Month % Change | Year on Year % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 拢817 | 8.4% | 5.6% |
| Northwest | 拢836 | -4.5% | -4.1% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 拢852 | 1.7% | 1.9% |
| East Midlands | 拢923 | -0.5% | -0.2% |
| West Midlands | 拢933 | 2.0% | -4.5% |
| Wales | 拢878 | -1.6% | 9.1% |
| East of England | 拢984 | -0.3% | 2.8% |
| London | 拢907 | 6.8% | -0.1% |
| Southeast | 拢928 | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Southwest | 拢895 | 5.3% | 5.5% |
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