Weekly pay up by more than 14% since start of the pandemic, official data shows

Average weekly earnings for people working in construction has shot up by over 14% since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest official figures.

ONS data shows that wage growth in construction in April was the largest out of any sector.

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Average earnings in London increased by 4.5% last month, payroll firm Hudson Contract said

The 14.2% rise is nearly two percentage points ahead of the 12.3% wage growth seen in finance and business services, the sector with the next sharpest earnings increase.

But weekly wage growth in construction follows a fall of more than 10% between April and June last year at the height of the first covid lockdown.

The ONS said that recent increases are the result of year-on-year growth in its latest release being compared to the start of the pandemic.

Between February and April this year, total weekly earnings in the sector increased by 4.9%, with the largest jump seen in the finance and business services sector at 7.2% over the same period.

But wages have also increased rapidly for some trades over the past month.

In London, average earnings in construction shot up by 4.5% during May to 拢885 per week, according to new data from self-employed payroll provider Hudson Contract.

The West Midlands also saw a significant rise in weekly earnings for subcontractors, increasing by 3.5% to 拢920 during May.

The region tends to have a larger supply of domestic tradespeople who have traditionally commanded higher earnings.

Meanwhile, average construction vacancies increased by nearly 34% in March to May this year compared to the previous three months.

The latest official figures show the furlough scheme was still being used by nearly 170,000 workers, or 13% of the construction workforce, at the end of April.

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