Demand for construction workers rises as the sector enjoys a boost in new orders

Last month, the recruitment team at Kalcrest noticed a surge in the number of technical construction and trades jobs available. And looking at a recent industry report, this increase in demand for workers appears to have been a trend across the UK.

According to the latest IHS Markit/CIPS report, employment continued to rise throughout July, following a sharp upward trend in industry activity, driven by the strongest rise in house building and commercial construction in over two-and-a-half years. Civil engineering increased at a slower rate due to fewer new orders to replace completed works, although the growth was still sharper than seen in June.

Construction firms across the country also reported an increase in demand, higher volumes of new project starts and, for some, the completion of projects that were delayed due to poor weather earlier in the year.

In order to keep on top of new work and the completion of previous orders, along with the expectation of a busy rest of the year, employers have been expanding their workforces - leading to the largest rise in construction employment since December 2015.

Tim Moore, Associate Director at IHS Markit said:

“July data reveals an impressive turnaround in the performance of the UK construction sector, with output growth the strongest for just over one year. There are also signs that underlying demand conditions have picked up this summer. New business volumes expanded at the strongest rate since May 2017, while workforce numbers increased to the greatest extent for just over two-and-a-half years.”

Kalcrest Site Services are a leading specialist recruitment agency, supplying skilled, experienced labourers, tradespeople and technical staff to the UK construction sector. Our consultants work closely with clients to tailor our services to suit your requirements and make sure you find the best people to enable you to successfully deliver your projects.

Whether you have a short notice requirement right now, or if you’d like to discuss your future recruitment needs, call the Kalcrest team on 01709 720348 (Rotherham), 01274 733776 (Bradford) or contact us via the website.