Salaries for small building firms are spiralling upwards, according to new research.
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) State of Trade Survey for Q1 2016 found that more than half of small construction firms are predicting wages and salaries will increase over the coming six months. Some 53% of survey respondents anticipate increasing wages and salaries, up from 49% in the previous quarter.
However, material costs are also predicted to rise, according to 63% of the companies surveyed, although that was down slightly on the 70% who anticipated an increase in prices in the previous quarter.
The FMB puts the forecast wage inflation down to the skills shortage.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “Given that brickies are already able to command wages of up to £60,000 per year in London and around £45,000 a year in the north of England, it’s clear that the skills squeeze is starting to push up costs for construction SMEs.
“A whopping 55% of small building firms are currently reporting difficulties hiring bricklayers, which makes these tradespeople the most in-demand of all construction workers. This particular skills shortage is of course linked to the steady growth in private house building.”
The FMB survey also showed that more than two-thirds of small building firms expect their workloads to increase over the coming three months.
“These results are heartening but skills shortages, and the knock-on effect on wages and salaries, remains a major cause for concern,” said Berry. “We need tens of thousands of new and returning construction workers to pick up the slack, or this growth among construction SMEs could so easily unravel.”
The survey is compiled quarterly using a random rolling sample of 2,000 FMB members. More than 400 responses are received and they are weighted according to turnover.
