More jobs are set to go from Scotland’s ailing construction industry next year, adding to the loss of more than 8,000 positions in the last 12 months.
That was the stark conclusion of the latest Scottish Construction Monitor, a regular survey carried out by the Scottish Building Federation in conjunction with more than 600 local construction employers.
The SBF research showed that although industry confidence will end one point ahead of 2012 starting levels, overall confidence remains “firmly in negative territory”.
More than three-quarters of the 600-plus construction firms consulted for the survey said they were less confident about prospects, with those ‘more confident’ outnumbered by a factor of three to one.
With new public-sector work and the housebuilding sector both performing “particularly badly” throughout this year, the employee headcount across the Scottish industry has declined.
A third of firms reported they had to reduce staff levels over the past 12 months, with fewer than one-in-five companies upping employment levels.
Lack of confidence in the building industry, and declining new order levels, will negatively impact on employment in Scotland’s building trade and carry the declining trend into next year, said the SBF.
Fewer than 14% of Scotland’s construction firms said they expect employment levels to rise in the next 12 months. The number of companies expecting to cut staff next year has risen to 37%.
In terms of overall headcount, this means that businesses which employ more than 71% of Scotland’s total construction workforce have predicted employment will fall next year.
Despite the announcement by Finance Secretary John Swinney this week of a £205 million package of ‘shovel-ready’ construction and maintenance projects, the expectations for publicly funded construction activity remain particularly muted for next year.