13th January 2012

Construction contractors could find work in struggling sector

Contractors working in the construction sector could find that businesses are more likely to consider hiring them as they struggle to maintain growth in the current economic climate.

According to research from Savills, commercial development fell at the fastest rate since February 2009 during December 2011. This made it the sixth month in a row in which the industry contracted.

In addition to this, commercial developers are rather pessimistic about the next quarter, suggesting that contractors might need to be employed to complete existing work rather than permanent employees for whom there would be insufficient work following the completion of current projects.

Michael Pillow, head of building consultancy at Savills, commented: “Refurbishment volumes remain broadly flat, against a background of sharp falls in new development activity.

"Lower-risk and more fundable projects are going to remain most popular until economic growth becomes more dependable."

Businesses often turn to contractors and temporary workers to help see them through tough times and recent figures have backed up this idea as the temporary jobs market has recently been outperforming the permanent sector.