Average weekly earnings in the construction industry

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes monthly updates on average weekly earnings across the whole economy and by industry and sector in Great Britain. This commentary relates to ONS’s EARN02 and EARN03 datasets, which cover non-seasonally adjusted earnings, excluding bonuses and including arrears.

Construction wages see small uptick in May

Construction wages, as measured by index K5AH in the ONS’s Average Weekly Earnings dataset⁽¹⁾, increased by 0.1% in the year to May 2026, following no annual growth in the year to April 2026. On the month, there was a 0.6% increase in the construction industry’s average weekly earnings.

Across the whole economy, the average increase in earnings in the year to May 2026 was 3.4%, down slightly from a 3.5% increase seen in the year to April 2026, according to index KA5H⁽²⁾.

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘Once again, construction earnings growth lagged behind the wider economy in May. While a modest annual increase is at least a positive sign, it reinforces the broader picture emerging from other data of subdued demand across the sector.

‘New government leadership will need to tread cautiously in the coming months. A stronger economy should boost demand for construction, but client and investor confidence can be easily undermined if policymakers move too quickly or intervene in the wrong areas.

‘With Parliament entering its summer recess, many of the changes Burnham’s government wants to introduce are likely to come in the autumn. It will be vital that these are considered carefully. The immediate priority must be strengthening the economy, creating the conditions for investment. If that foundation is in place, increased housebuilding, greater employer investment in training and other long-term improvements will follow naturally.’

Annual earnings growth in construction was lower than the whole economy average for the thirteenth consecutive month in May 2026.

^{Source: ONS – EARN02: Average weekly earnings by sector, Table 7, and EARN03: Average weekly earnings by industry, Table 4}

Comparing pay at a sector level (with index K56S), construction workers saw the lowest annual increase in average weekly earnings across all sectors.

The greatest annual wage growth was recorded in the public sector with a 6.3% rise.

^{Source: ONS – EARN02: Average weekly earnings by sector, Table 7}

The ONS data show that the construction sector has experienced the most extreme fluctuations in earnings movement in recent years, from a 9.5% annual decrease in May 2020 to a 13.4% increase year-on-year in May 2021.

^{Source: ONS – EARN02: Average weekly earnings by sector, Table 7}

BCIS produces five-year forecasts of the Average Weekly Earnings construction (K5AH) and whole economy (KA5H) time series for subscribers of BCIS OpX.

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^{(1) Office for National Statistics – EARN03: Average weekly earnings by industry  - here}

^{(2) Office for National Statistics – EARN02: Average weekly earnings by sector  - here}