Construction Labour Costs Are Rising. Is Your

Self-employed tradespeople earned a record £1,110 a week on average in August 2026, according to Hudson Contract. That’s up 3.1% on July and 4.5% on August last year.

Plumbers averaged £1,348 a week, up 10.4% in a month, while joiners averaged £1,247, up 8.9%.

So if you’ve got projects coming up, those numbers will catch your eye. But before you change your rates across the board, it’s worth looking at what they actually tell us.

A bigger weekly total doesn’t always mean a higher rate

Hudson’s figures show weekly earnings for self-employed tradespeople in its data. They aren’t standard day rates, and they don’t tell us what every contractor is paying. August was also hot and dry so Hudson suggests the weather may have allowed people to work longer hours. It's inevitable that if someone spends more time on site, their weekly earnings can rise even when their rate stays the same.

But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the figures. Experienced tradespeople have choices, and the rate you offer will affect who’s available for your job. It just means a national headline shouldn’t set your rate for you.

Why are earnings rising if construction output is falling?

The ONS reported that construction output fell 0.5% in the three months to July, with both new work and repair and maintenance down.

On the face of it, that seems at odds with record earnings, but anyone trying to staff a site knows that less work nationally doesn’t necessarily make the right people easier to find locally. You might have several joiners available in one area and struggle to find one within travelling distance of another site. The type of work, the start date and the length of the job all make a difference.

Even neighbouring regions can move differently. Hudson’s figures put average weekly earnings at £1,101 in the East Midlands and £1,097 in Yorkshire and the Humber. The totals are close, but the year-on-year increases were 0.3% and 6.6% respectively.

A national average gives you context but it won’t tell you what you need to offer a joiner for a job in Doncaster next Tuesday.

The skills challenge hasn’t gone away

CITB estimates construction will need 41,200 additional workers a year from 2026 to 2030. It expects output to remain subdued this year before picking up from 2027.

A quieter spell may ease some immediate pressure but it won’t solve the shortage of skilled people for the trades and locations where demand is strongest.

So what can you do if you’ve got work in the pipeline?

Check the rate for each job. The right rate depends on the trade, location, hours and how long you need someone for. A short job with a long commute may need a higher rate to attract the right person.
Give your recruiter some notice. We know dates move so even a heads-up about likely labour needs gives us more time to speak to the right people and check their availability.
Look at the cost of a delay, as well as the rate. The cheapest option can become expensive if someone doesn’t turn up, lacks the right skills or needs replacing partway through.
Make the job straightforward to take on. Clear site details, honest expectations and quick decisions matter when good tradespeople can choose between assignments.

Know where you need to be competitive

At Thorn Baker Construction, we see how quickly availability changes between trades, regions and individual sites. Record weekly earnings are a good reason to review your labour plans, but they don’t mean every role needs a blanket rate increase.

There’s another reason to look at those plans now. With changes to Right to Work checks due to extend to more working arrangements, it’s worth being clear about how the people coming onto your sites are engaged and who is responsible for checking them.

If you’ve got work coming up, or you have questions about your labour arrangements, book a consultation with your Thorn Baker Construction consultant. We can talk through local availability, the rates you’re offering and any concerns about how your workforce is being supplied.

Sources: Hudson Contract self-employed earnings data (August 2026); ONS construction output (July 2026); CITB Construction Workforce Outlook 2026–2030. Weekly earnings are not standard day rates and do not represent all construction pay.