Construction furlough total rises above 750,000 staff

Construction companies furloughed just over three-quarters of a million staff during the coronavirus outbreak from March to the end of June.

The number accounts for 59% of eligible staff with 75% of eligible firms using the coronavirus job retention scheme at some point in the last five months.

New figures from HM Revenue and Customs reveal that £2.6bn was paid out to 171,400 firms making claims for support for staff.

From now on the number of staff on furlough is expected to diminish sharply as contractors bring staff back into work or opt for redundancies to slim down for predicted lower levels of activity.

The level of support for the self-employed was even greater.

New June figures from the self-employment income support scheme reveal 867,000 construction workers received pay-outs, representing an 81% take-up rate.

Pay-outs to the self-employed total just over £3bn with the average claim at £3,500.

This takes total Government support for the construction workforce so far to over £5.6bn.

For business claims for furloughed staff alone, construction ranked fourth behind retail (£5.2bn), hospitality and food (£4.1bn) and manufacturing (£3.3bn).

Across the UK, Scotland had the highest percentage take-up for support among staff, while in England the greatest proportion of take-up was in the south west with 62% of total eligible staff placed on the coronavirus job protection scheme.

**Construction staff furloughs by region**
	Staff furloughed	Eligible	take-up
England	601,000	1,059,400	57%
North East	31,500	52,000	60%
North West	77,500	135,500	57%
Yorks & Humbs	58,100	100,800	58%
East Midlands	53,100	94,400	56%
West Midlands	55,000	97,900	56%
East	79,800	141,500	56%
London	77,500	140,300	55%
South East	97,200	182,500	53%
South West	71,300	114,500	62%
Wales	34,600	57,800	60%
Scotland	87,900	121,500	72%
Northern Ireland	23,800	34,200	70%

**Self-employed construction claims by region**
	No Claims	Eligible	Take-up	Value
England	767,000	944,500	81%	£2.7bn
North East	21,300	25,800	83%	£69m
North West	73,700	89,700	82%	£238m
Yorks & Humbs	57,800	70,300	82%	£195m
East Midlands	55,800	68,600	81%	£200m
West Midlands	66,900	82,300	81%	£234m
East	97,200	118,900	82%	£372m
London	189,600	239,500	79%	£660m
South East	159,800	130,800	82%	£496m
South West	73,800	89,600	82%	£263m
Wales	34,500	41,200	84%	£107m
Scotland	40,500	49,100	83%	£145m
Northern Ireland	23,300	27,000	86%	£75m

updated: 09/07/2020

Let us know what you think:

You are here: Blog / Construction furlough total rises above 750,000 staff