According to the latest employment report, there was an increasing demand for construction staff last month…
A new report from KPMG and REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) has revealed a slower, but robust demand for permanent and temporary construction workers. Demand for construction employment was ranked in fourth place out of the nine monitored subcategories during October.
A shortage of skilled workers has undoubtedly placed pressure on construction employers and has put the advantage firmly on the shoulders of staff. Last month, recruitment agencies warned about the risks of failing to keep existing workforces happy and noted that employers who failed to do so would see their staff leave for greener pastures.
This latest report, which adjusted for seasonal factors, found the index for permanent workers fell from 64.7 in September to 62.8 in October. This, the report said, was indicative of expansion in permanent vacancies. It was also stronger than rest of the UK, which stood at 62.1.
Temporary workers saw a fall of 56.6 in September to a 21-month low of 55.5. However, this figure was consistent with a marked rate of expansion. It remained below the UK average of 59.7. Out of the nine groups, construction professionals came eighth, ahead of the group Executive/Professional.
KPMG’s head of infrastructure, building and construction Richard Threlfall said: “These latest figures point to a continuing shortage of labour, both permanent and temporary, in the construction sector.
“It is clear the industry is suffering from a chronic skills shortage along its entire supply chain, with recruiters struggling to meet demand for roles ranging from architects to construction workers.
“As a result salaries in the sector are soaring, with the average weekly rise reaching 5.1 per cent, vastly outpacing the private sector average of 3 per cent.
“The shortage of construction labour is suffocating the expected growth of the industry. We have seen weaker than expected output in the sector in the last few months, in particular in the commercial sector, and it seems clear this is largely due to projects being delayed and rescoped as a result of price rises caused by material and labour cost inflation.”