Strong year for construction salaries as confidence rises

Pay rates for construction workers have increased significantly in the past year, according to specialist recruiter Ionic Recruitment.

Overall, construction workers have enjoyed an eight percent increase in wages in the last 12 months, Ionic found.

The profession seeing the greatest jump in salaries was quantity surveying – permanent workers in this sector experienced a 45% rise in their wages. This is down to the fact demand for chartered surveyors tends to exceed supply, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Site managers also saw an overall increase in pay and demand for their services.

Martyn Makinson, Managing Director of Ionic Recruitment, said that increasing salaries reflected a “marked increase” in new construction projects in the past year.

He said: “The recent general election has also been a boost, as construction companies now know what they can expect from the government for the next five years.”

He added: “Senior roles have clearly seen a larger increase in salary thanks to the demand for experienced workers. With current employment gaps and a shortage of construction contractors, now is an opportune time to consider a career within the construction sector.”

Temporary construction workers also experienced an average pay increase of seven percent, with painters and decorators getting a 46% rise, followed by ground workers (23%) and joiners (15%).

Makinson said: “Some may predict that permanent workers see bigger increases in wages as temporary workers tend to barter more to secure contracts. Our figures show that actually, the wage increases are pretty similar across both which is good news in general for the construction sector as a whole.”