Growing uncertainty over Brexit and the worsening skills crisis are to blame for the sharp decline in construction output between October to December 2018 compared with the previous three months, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Commenting on the construction output figures, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “The UK construction sector declined by X per cent during October to December 2018 compared with the previous three months. Mounting political uncertainty is undoubtedly to blame for these disappointing results. Fewer homeowners are commissioning home improvement projects because of this, and these projects are the lifeblood of a small builder. The fact that we now have less than 50 days until Brexit and are still none the wiser about our future, means levels uncertainty are increasing every day. What’s more, the growing possibility that we may well crash out of the EU without a deal is also contributing to this climate.”
Berry concluded: “The worsening skills crisis, which comes hand in hand with Brexit, can also be blamed for the drop in output in the last quarter of 2018. We know that two-thirds of builders are struggling to hire carpenters, and nearly as many are facing difficulty hiring bricklayers – two key trades in construction. Continued inflows of EU workers have so far served to mitigate this shortage and help the industry and economy continue to grow. However, with Brexit looming, our days with access to these vital workers are numbered. Already, even under a system of free movement, the number of EU workers leaving our shores is increasing. The most recent statistics from the ONS shows that the number of non-UK nationals from the EU working in the UK dropped by 132,000 in the three months to September 2018 compared with 2017. That's the largest annual fall since comparable records began in 1997. The Immigration White Paper will further exacerbate this problem because the Government is making few allowances for low skilled workers to enter the UK post-Brexit. We have very real fears that construction output will only continue to fall and housing and infrastructure targets missed, unless the Government begins to listen to the needs of the industry, and allows us to draw on EU workers of all skill levels.”
