Subcontractor pay shows signs of recovery
16:11 20 Aug 2009
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Subcontractor wage trends showed the first signs of recovery during July, with figures for four out of five regions showing earnings for self-employed operatives are up by 4% to 13% this month, according to the monthly data supplied to Contract Journal by Hudson Contract. Only the South West bucked the trend by showing a fractional decrease.
Mechanical and electrical installers were again the best earning trades, with the highest average weekly pay of £1,419.70 in the Midlands.
However, a more obvious yardstick of work level is bricklayers’ pay. Two years ago, self-employed brickies were earning an average of £800 a week. This month the figure is £556.32.
"It tells the full story of how labour-only subbies have been hardest hit since the recession began to bite," said David Jackson, managing director of Hudson Contractor.
However, he thought "the worst is now over".
"It seems the decline is losing momentum, and we’ll see in the autumn whether it is going to begin to reverse," said Jackson. “Three-quarters of our trade groups are also earning more."