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Tag: job losses

Construction jobs slump to lowest level since 2003

Construction jobs slump to lowest level since 2003

Construction lost a further 24,000 jobs in the first quarter of this year with the number of workforce jobs dropping to its lowest level since mid 2003. The labour market statistics provide further evidence of the slump in construction activity. Although it is worth bearing in mind that the more jobs rich repair and maintenance sectors have taken more of a beating than the new work sectors of construction. This would mean proportionately more jobs lost for a given drop in overall…

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Bleak outlook for construction jobs as the downward trend continues

Bleak outlook for construction jobs as the downward trend continues

Construction job losses are starting once again to mount with a further 9,000 knocked of the number of workforce jobs in the final quarter of last year, as measured by the national statisticians. This means that at the end of 2010 there were about 2,128,000 construction jobs measured compared with 2,180,000 at the end of 2009 – a drop of just over 50,000. That takes the number of jobs lost from peak in September 2008 to 246,000, when numbers peaked…

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Public sector job cuts and the housing market

Public sector job cuts and the housing market

There has been some rather unsettling data released over recent days for those who fear falling house prices. The latest Bank of England data showed seasonally adjusted mortgage lending falling by 10% in December to a level not seen since May 2009 when the housing market slumped. Nationwide’s house price index showed a further slight fall of 0.1% in January, which when other indicies are considered suggest prices are on a downward path. Meanwhile there are worrying signs of falling…

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Halifax shows continued slide in house prices…but the real market test comes in the New Year

Halifax shows continued slide in house prices…but the real market test comes in the New Year

The Halifax house price index crept down today and appears to be on a path of slow decline, which is broadly in line with most other house price indicators. And as we can see from the graph transactions remain subdued and mortgage approvals are also on a gentle downward slide. But while the current slide in the market may be unsettling, it will be the next few months that will prove particularly nail biting for those whose fortunes are pinned…

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More than 300,000 construction jobs axed so far in this recession

More than 300,000 construction jobs axed so far in this recession

Construction lost 63,000 jobs in the first quarter of this year and has shed more than 300,000 since the recession bit hard after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. The latest employment figures are based on a slightly different assessment of the industry (Standard Industrial Classification 2007 is used) and paint an even gloomy picture of the trajectory of construction jobs than did the previous series (see graph). At peak in September 2008 the statisticians now reckon there were 2,364,000…

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What to make of the conflicting messages from the latest house prices surveys

What to make of the conflicting messages from the latest house prices surveys

As last week closed the Halifax index showed the average price of a home (seasonally adjusted) falling for the second month in a row. This contrasts starkly with the Nationwide data which earlier last week was showing a continuation of a minor surge in prices. Meanwhile the Hometrack survey released last Monday suggests that house price inflation in flagging as activity in the market slows. It is hard to know exactly what to make of these conflicting accounts and to…

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We’re back to double-digit growth in house prices, oh dear

We’re back to double-digit growth in house prices, oh dear

House prices are booming again, crack open the champagne! Well maybe not. If I was a house builder reading the latest survey from the Nationwide building society showing a double-digit rise in prices over the past year (see graph) I would be worried. Looking at my short-term prospects, naturally I would be chirpy about the larger profit margin I could reasonably expect on my future sales. Naturally I would be upbeat about how price competitive I can now be against…

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Good news in the employment figures, but the future for construction jobs remains uncertain

Good news in the employment figures, but the future for construction jobs remains uncertain

The latest employment data will provide economists, politicians and strategists with plenty to chew on. The headline figure for unemployment jumped by 43,000 to top 2.5 million for the first time since 1996, the number of people in employment fell by 89,000 and the number wanting a job rose again. But there are certainly positive signs. The claimant count is down by 32,900 and the actual number of hours worked is on the rise. And one figure that probably won’t…

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Joy deferred as CIPS shows construction activity grows for first time in two years

Joy deferred as CIPS shows construction activity grows for first time in two years

So the construction activity indicator produced by the buyers’ body CIPS finally points to growth after two years of measuring falling workloads. But this seemingly uplifting moment appears to have brought little joy. The March figure popped its head above the 50 no-change mark on the back of rising activity in the housing and commercial sectors. But the survey also found more and deeper job cuts within the industry and there was a drop in the confidence within firms over…

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Fewer redundancy in construction, but the future remains bleak on jobs

Fewer redundancy in construction, but the future remains bleak on jobs

For the optimists in the construction industry there is much hope to be gleaned from the latest employment figures. Equally for the pessimists there is plenty within the numbers to fret about. So what should we make of the latest batch of labour market numbers that, among other things, show that 163,000 redundacies were recorded in construction in 2009?