FMB survey says workloads and employment levels show further decline

Workloads and employment levels in the building industry have shown further decline, according to the Federation of Master Builders’ latest State of Trade Survey for the second quarter of this year.

It is the third quarter in succession that a decline has been reported and it is the first time since 1990 that the spring quarter has shown a decline.

More than a third of builders (35%) experienced a reduction in workloads, while only 29% experienced an upturn; 35% said workloads remained the same.

The worst affected area for workload levels was Yorkshire & Humber, where 68% of respondents reported lower workloads.

However, Scotland reported the biggest upturn with 50% of respondents claiming that they are getting more work.

Encouragingly, 35% of respondents are expecting higher workloads in the next quarter, compared to the 29% who expect lower levels of work.

On the changes in employment levels, 22% of those surveyed witnessed lower levels of employment, while 58% of respondents said levels had remained the same.

The worst affected area for employment was the East Midlands, where 86% of respondents said the employment was lower in the second quarter.

Northern Ireland showed the biggest improvement with 42% of respondents reporting an increase in employment levels between April and June.