The number of people employed in construction dropped to the second-lowest level in almost a quarter of a century from April to the end of June.
Office for National Statistics figures released today for the second quarter of the year show that 2,081,000 people were employed in the sector. This was up on the figure of 2,067,000 in the same period last year, which was the lowest headcount in the sector since January-to-March 2001.
The previous three quarters had seen rises, but the total for the second quarter this year, released today, is down 2.8 per cent on the first quarter.
The news comes on the same day that the government announced the locations of 10 new technical skills colleges to train up a new generation of construction workers, as part of a £625m skills package announced earlier in the year.
Many in the sector welcomed the package but, speaking to Construction News in an in-depth feature exploring the funding, Paul Ruddick, chairman and founder of modular construction specialist Reds10, said industry reform was also needed.
“Ultimately, the skills gap won’t be bridged until the construction industry gets its own house in order,” he said.
“We need a new model of main contracting that brings more of the supply chain and design in-house, so innovation can be properly harnessed to drive improvements in productivity, and we need a new model of doing business with more contractors developing their own workforce, as construction used to do.”
Today’s figures also show that the percentage of women employed in construction rose to 15.2 per cent during the latest quarter, up from 13.2 per cent in the same period last year.
The number of female construction workers rose from 272,000 to 318,000 over the year.