Industry vacancies drop to lowest level for several months but remain historically high
Total average pay in the construction sector rose 6.3% in April to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figures, showing the total for the industry including bonuses, rose faster than for most other sectors including manufacturing (4.1%) the total private sector (5.9%) and the public sector (1.8%). Pay rose on a par with finance (6.3%) but was not as high as the 7.7% recorded for the wholesaling, retail, hotels and restaurants sector.
Despite the pay increase in construction it is likely the average pay award in the industry fell once inflation is taken into account.
The ONS has not published figures for individual industries taking inflation into account. However, for the economy as a whole, pay including bonuses rose 5.1% but fell 2.5% in real terms. Basic pay rose 4.7% but decreased 3% in real terms.
ONS figures also show construction wages rose 5.4% in June compared with the same month the previous year. Separate Consumer Price Index Housing (CPIH) figures show inflation rose 8.2% over the same period.
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ONS data today also showed there were 42,000 vacancies in construction in May to July. This the lowest three-monthly figure posted since the 38,000 recorded for November to January this year, although still historically high (see graph below).
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