North west and London tradesmen’s wages rise again

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Continued changes in supply of labor due to Brexit and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant as skilled labor shortages continue to bite with wages rising again in London and the North west.

Ian Anfield, managing director, commented saying that: “We estimate that through Covid the industry has been short of as many as 140,000 tradespeople, or 10% down on where we could have been, which has helped drive up labour rates in the face of high demand.

“Skills shortages – once an acute regional problem – has been exacerbated across the country by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).”

The official statistics show how construction workers claimed grants worth £966m in the last round of SEISS, which covered the period to September 15 2021.

The construction industry  has claimed grants worth nearly £11bn through the scheme which would amount to hundreds of millions of man hours. 

Anfield added: “As SEISS ends, many will return to work but because huge infrastructure projects such as Hinkley Point and HS2 are in full swing, government departments have accelerated ‘shovel-ready’ projects and the ongoing housing and domestic work, demand will continue to outstrip supply.”