Rate of construction jobs creation falls for second month in a row
3 February 2015
Purchasing managers in the construction sector witnessed a slower rate in job creation in January for a consecutive month, but this has not filtered through to construction recruiters as of yet, agencies say.
Tue, 3 Feb 2015Purchasing managers in the construction sector witnessed a slower rate in job creation in January for a consecutive month, but this has not filtered through to construction recruiters as of yet, agencies say.
According to January’s Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index, the UK construction sector’s rate of job creation fell for the second month running to its weakest levels since December 2013. Some firms surveyed attribute the decline to less new business coming in through the door in recent months.
But Owen Goodhead, managing director at Randstad CPE (Construction Property & Engineering), told Recruiter the construction staffing specialist’s applicant rates and job fill rates continue to climb.
“We’re probably 30% up in terms of our applicant rates and 25% up in fill rate from a year ago.
“We’re not seeing any evidence of it slowing down,” he added. “We’re actually seeing stronger demand in the regions, whereas last year it was very London-centric.”
Meanwhile, James Austen, a director at construction recruitment firm Carbon60, said the seasonal dip normally observed in winter had not been as pronounced as in recent years.
He told Recruiter: “Due to external circumstances, such as concrete not setting below certain temperatures, there is always seasonal fluctuations. Any dip we experienced over November, December and January was expected, but we can confirm the number of roles registered this year was up on figures from last year and therefore indicates the market is in a stronger place than this time last year.”
While the rate of job creation fell, according to the index, overall business activity in the sector continued to increase with the index posting a 59.1 reading in January, up from 57.6 in December.
Any reading below 50 indicates the sector is not growing.
According to January’s Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index, the UK construction sector’s rate of job creation fell for the second month running to its weakest levels since December 2013. Some firms surveyed attribute the decline to less new business coming in through the door in recent months.
But Owen Goodhead, managing director at Randstad CPE (Construction Property & Engineering), told Recruiter the construction staffing specialist’s applicant rates and job fill rates continue to climb.
“We’re probably 30% up in terms of our applicant rates and 25% up in fill rate from a year ago.
“We’re not seeing any evidence of it slowing down,” he added. “We’re actually seeing stronger demand in the regions, whereas last year it was very London-centric.”
Meanwhile, James Austen, a director at construction recruitment firm Carbon60, said the seasonal dip normally observed in winter had not been as pronounced as in recent years.
He told Recruiter: “Due to external circumstances, such as concrete not setting below certain temperatures, there is always seasonal fluctuations. Any dip we experienced over November, December and January was expected, but we can confirm the number of roles registered this year was up on figures from last year and therefore indicates the market is in a stronger place than this time last year.”
While the rate of job creation fell, according to the index, overall business activity in the sector continued to increase with the index posting a 59.1 reading in January, up from 57.6 in December.
Any reading below 50 indicates the sector is not growing.
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