Now that one year is ending, let’s look back at where we were in 2023, as the value of new work reached a record high despite a fall in new orders.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) construction statistics for Great Britain in 2023, the value of new work increased by 4.2 per cent (£5,628 million) to a record high of £139,029 million.
This increase was caused by growth in both private sector work of £2,050 million and in the public sector of £3,578 million.
However, new orders fell by 16 per cent to £67,885 million, mainly caused by falls in public infrastructure, private commercial and private housing
By contrast, the only sector that increased in new orders was public housing.
Employment statistics in 2023 showed positive signs of growth as construction-related employees increased by 0.2 per cent compared with 2022, totalling 1.4 million workers.
A report by CITB in May revealed that 251,000 extra construction workers are required by 2028 to meet demand, with 31 percent of construction employers finding suitably skilled staff remains their key challenge.
This week, the government launched new skills hubs, made available due to a £140 million industry investment to unlock five thousand more construction apprenticeships.
The biggest contributor to employment growth in 2023 was Scotland with growth of 1.4 per cent, Wales increased by 0.7 per cent and England showed no growth on the year.
But the number of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) registered construction firms in Q3 2023 (July-September) decreased to 364,514, down 2.6 per cent from 2022.
England saw the largest decrease in registered firms, with 2.8 per cent (9,476).
Registered firms in Wales and Scotland decreased by 2.1 per cent (300) and 0.2 per cent (42) respectively.
The number of construction companies that went out of business in the UK in the year to August 2024 totalled 4,310, according to recent findings by the Insolvency Service, which is 1.1 per cent higher than a year ago.
Of the total number, 2,514 (58 per cent) were specialist sub-contractors, whereas 1,601 (37 per cent) were main building contractors.
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