UK construction needs 47,860 extra workers a year to meet demand – CITB

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has found that the UK construction sector will need to bring in an additional 47,860 workers each year between 2025 to 2029 to keep up with demand.

Its Construction Workforce Outlook 2025–29 report found that construction output is forecast to grow across all nations and English regions, with a modest 1.6% rise expected in 2025 and higher growth between 2026 and 2029.

Annual output growth is predicted to reach 2.3% in 2026, 2.4% in 2027, 2.3% in 2028 and 2.1% in 2029. 

Infrastructure is set to see the strongest growth at 4.2% per year on average, followed by public new housing at 3.4% and private new housing at 3.3%.

In 2024, UK construction output reached £215.7bn, with 44% coming from repair and maintenance. 

This breakdown varies across the UK, with each region seeing different sector strengths.

The forecast expects the UK construction workforce to grow to around 2.75 million by 2029, up from 2,649,220 in 2024. 

To meet demand, the industry will need to recruit an estimated 47,860 extra workers per year over the next five years, a total of 239,300 workers, equal to 1.8% of the 2024 workforce.

The demand for extra workers differs by job type, with professional and technical roles needing 2.3% more staff across the UK, equivalent to 9,950 people. 

In Northern Ireland, the increase is 1.8% or 190 people, while Greater London will need 2.6% more, or 1,880 workers.

For manager and supervisor roles, 2% extra recruitment is needed in the UK (7,970 workers), 2.3% in Northern Ireland (130 workers), and 2.1% in Greater London (1,690 workers).

For skilled trades and site based jobs, 1.5% extra recruitment is needed in the UK (19,940 workers), 1.3% in Northern Ireland (560 workers), and 2% in Greater London (3,130 workers).

Meanwhile, office based roles need 1.9% extra recruitment in the UK (10,010 workers), 1.9% in Northern Ireland (220 workers), and 2.1% in Greater London (1,760 workers).

The total extra recruitment needed is 1.8% in the UK, 1.6% in Northern Ireland (1,090 workers), and 2.2% in Greater London (8,460 workers).