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 fell in the year to June 2026

Construction wages, as measured by index K5AH in the ONS’s Average Weekly Earnings dataset⁽¹⁾, decreased by 0.2% in the year to June 2026, up from a 0.3% decline in the year to May 2026. On the month, there was a 0.2% increase in the construction industry’s average weekly earnings.

Across the whole economy, the average increase in earnings in the year to June 2026 was 3.7%, up slightly from the 3.4% increase seen in the year to May 2026, according to index KA5H⁽²⁾.

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘Construction wage growth remains broadly weak, reflecting lower workloads in some areas of the market. Until we see a substantial recovery in activity, it’s unlikely that there will be any meaningful increase in average weekly earnings, simply because employers are not in a strong enough position to absorb additional costs.

‘Wage growth is clearly important for attracting and retaining workers, particularly given the skills challenges facing construction. This is another reason for the government to help stimulate investment appetite and support the pipeline of new work.’

Annual earnings growth in construction was lower than the whole economy average for the fourteenth consecutive month in June 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 (using index K56S), construction was the only sector to see a decrease in average weekly earnings growth in the year to June 2026.

The greatest annual wage growth was recorded in the public sector with a 6.6% 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}