Subcontractors across the UK’s scaffolding sector have seen a significant rise in earnings, reflecting the growing demand for skilled labour in key trades.
According to data from Hudson Contract, a leading payroll provider for the construction industry, scaffolding subcontractors enjoyed record weekly pay in August 2024, with earnings up 2 per cent to £975 on average.
This increase places scaffolders alongside other key trades, such as insulation and bricklaying, which also experienced notable growth. Insulation workers saw the most substantial rise, with earnings surging by 7.3 per cent to £1,218 per week. Bricklayers followed closely, with a 4.6 per cent increase, bringing their average weekly earnings to £1,032.
Ian Anfield, Managing Director of Hudson Contract, highlighted the ongoing demand for self-employed subcontractors, particularly those with specialist skills like scaffolding.
He noted, “Our latest figures demonstrate the continued demand for the most highly skilled, safe, and productive tradespeople in construction. Scaffolders are increasingly essential to maintaining high safety standards on complex building projects, and their wages reflect their critical role.”
The data is based on payments made on behalf of around 2,600 construction SMEs across England and Wales. Year-on-year, scaffolding earnings have risen by 1.6 per cent compared to August 2023, as the demand for skilled workers in the sector continues to grow, even amidst relatively flat housebuilding activity.
Anfield cautioned that while there is increasing pressure to ramp up housebuilding, especially with government targets aiming for 300,000 new homes annually, the solution lies in maximising existing skills rather than simply increasing the number of tradespeople.
“Construction is cyclical,” he said, “and companies will adapt and reorganise their resources to maximise the skills available to them on-site.”
Scaffolding has been identified as one of the most critical trades for ensuring safety and efficiency in the construction sector. As the industry faces fluctuating demand, scaffolders are well-positioned to benefit from sustained wage growth as construction firms prioritise highly skilled labour over-rapid expansion of the workforce.
Hudson Contract’s pay trends analysis offers one of the most accurate snapshots of subcontractor earnings across the UK, with data provided to the Bank of England to help inform economic policy and decisions regarding the construction workforce.
With the scaffolding sector continuing to see strong wage growth, the outlook for skilled subcontractors remains positive amidst shifting economic conditions.
