Latest News Thu, Aug 3, 2023 5:53 AM
There has been a continued upward trend in the repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI) building work in Q2 of this year, but house building lags behind
A greater number of members have reported lower workloads and enquiries than those reporting more, according to the latest State of Trade Survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “While there are plenty of positives to take from this quarter’s State of Trade Survey, there are still worrying signs for house builders. Workloads are up, driven by a strong repair, maintenance and improvement sector and encouragingly we’re also seeing pressure on obtaining skilled labour easing.
“House building has been hit badly, despite a slight increase on last quarter more members are reporting less work than they are more, and enquiries continue to look bleak. The fall in house building is worrying because housing supply is a key component of a growing the economy and unlocking a mobile workforce. The Government needs to step up its efforts if its own ambition to build 300,000 each year is to be met because the figure is expected to be less than half than that this year.
“The survey also points towards other areas of concern, with just under half of FMB members saying they expect profits to be lower than expected and around one in five saying they are restricting hiring new staff. With inflation dipping marginally, we’ll need to see over the coming months if this has any positive effects on bottom lines.”
The latest survey for Q2 2023 found:
Market conditions
Skills
Impact of changes in prices and costs
The FMB State of Trade Survey, which is released quarterly, is the longest running survey of its kind to track the experience of small to medium-sized (SME) construction firms in the UK.
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