The earnings of self-employed construction workers are at an all-time high, with average weekly pay across all trades rising to £972 in August 2022. According to the data from Hudson Contract, this was 2% higher compared to July 2022 and a 4.6% increase when compared with the same period in 2021.
There were some regional variations with London, South East and East of England all earning in excess of £1000 pw on average:
| Region | August 2022 Average | Month on Month % Change | Year on Year % Change |
| North East | £769 | 4.6% | -4.5% |
| North West | £946 | 2.7% | 10.1% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £934 | 1.3% | 11.3% |
| East Midlands | £998 | 4.6% | -2.3% |
| West Midlands | £956 | -1.8% | -0.8% |
| Wales | £943 | 2.5% | 1.5% |
| East of England | £1,054 | 0.9% | 6.1% |
| London | £1,017 | 0.7% | 10.4% |
| South East | £1,006 | 1.7% | 3.7% |
| South West | £967 | 6.4% | 7.8% |
Ian Anfield, managing director of Hudson Contract, said: “Earnings usually fall in August as people take well-earned holidays but this year we have seen incredibly strong demand for highly skilled self-employed tradespeople whose pay continues to outperform their employed counterparts. We are starting to see a longer-term impact of Brexit. Those subbies who returned to Europe, retired or switched industries are no longer being replaced by newcomers from the EU as the tap has been turned off.”
