Scale and Composition of the Construction Industry in the UK
– Value of construction new work peaked at £119,087 million in 2019, dropping to £99,651 million in 2020.
– New housing comprised £37,755 million of new work, infrastructure £22,517 million, and private commercial building £24,614 million.
– Public sector work accounted for 26% by value of new work in 2020.
– Construction sector employed around 2.1 million workers in Great Britain in 2020.
– Over a third of construction businesses in 2020 were located in London and south east England.
Industry Strategy and Challenges
– Productivity in construction remains below the UK average and has changed little in the past 50 years.
– UK government has published several reports and strategies to improve the sector’s efficiency.
– Construction 2025 industrial strategy was launched in 2013.
– Largest construction project in the UK is the construction of the High Speed 2 rail line.
– Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption and uncertainty in the industry.
Health and Safety in the Construction Industry
– Construction accounted for 39 out of 142 work fatalities reported in 2021-22.
– Half of deaths over a five-year period attributed to falls from height.
– Construction’s fatal injury rate is around four times higher than the all industry rate.
– Around 1.8% of construction workers reported musculoskeletal disorders.
– Construction workers have a higher rate of musculoskeletal disorders compared to workers across all industries.
Economic Impact on the Construction Industry
– Industry faced turmoil following the Brexit vote in June 2016.
– COVID-19 pandemic and rising fuel prices from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine caused further disruption.
– Construction industry accounted for 11% of UK company insolvencies in 2023.
– Inflation and interest rates affected businesses in the construction industry.
References
– Briefing Paper: Construction industry: statistics and policy by Chris Rhodes.
– Source: National Accounts Estimates of Main Aggregates | United Nations Statistics Division.
– Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2020 by Office for National Statistics.
– Construction industry just 12.5% women and 5.4% BAME by GMB Union.
– Productivity in the construction industry, UK: 2021 by Office for National Statistics. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_industry_of_the_United_Kingdom
The construction industry is one of the major industry sectors in the economy of the United Kingdom, contributing about 6% of UK gross value added in 2019. In 2018, it was, by GVA, the sixth biggest construction sector in the world.
