No winter chills for construction freelancers
as earnings continue to grow
Hudson Contract delivers the most accurate indications of pay trends across the construction industry, using payroll data for more than 2,200 construction companies to publish the average pay for a spectrum of 17 different trades now split across ten regions.
The early chill of winter didn’t deter subcontractors from getting out last month as demand for specialist skills drove up their weekly earnings ahead of Christmas.
Freelance tradespeople earned an average of £916 per week in November, a rise of 0.5 per cent on the previous period. This comes after the 2.5 per cent growth seen in October.
Ian Anfield, managing director of Hudson Contract, said: “The latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction survey shows that housebuilding has been the most resilient part of the industry in 2019. Most of our clients are in housebuilding and are very busy, which is driving demand for highly skilled freelancers. They are earning the equivalent annual salary of £44,000, which is a great advert for construction.”
Our regional breakdown shows earnings in the South East hit a record high in November, rising by 0.8 per cent to £927 a week. Major projects include the East West Rail link and a number of large housebuilding programmes.
London saw the biggest regional increase with earnings up 2.3 per cent to £908, followed by the South West, up 1.6 per cent to £848, and the East of England, up 1.3 per cent to £957.
| Region | November 2019 Average | Month on Month Change | Year on Year Change |
| North East | £774 | -0.6% | -0.5% |
| North West | £872 | 1.2% | 6.0% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £836 | -1.6% | -1.8% |
| East Midlands | £925 | -0.6% | 0.3% |
| West Midlands | £977 | -0.4% | 0.8% |
| Wales | £805 | 0.8% | -3.6% |
| East of England | £957 | 1.3% | -0.4% |
| London | £908 | 2.3% | -0.2% |
| South East | £927 | 0.8% | 2.5% |
| South West | £848 | 1.6% | 4.0% |
To view our interactive pay trends map click here
This month’s winners:
- Plumbing: +4.1%
- Insulation: +3.4%
- Mechanical and engineering: +3.4%
And the losers:
- Shop fitting: -1.2%
- General construction: -0.5%
- Equipment and operator hire: -0.5%
