{"id":531371,"date":"2025-10-22T12:45:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=531371"},"modified":"2025-10-22T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:45:12","slug":"industry-leaders-fear-recruitment-cutbacks-due-to-slowing-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/skills\/industry-leaders-fear-recruitment-cutbacks-due-to-slowing-market-22-10-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Industry leaders fear recruitment cutbacks due to slowing market"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chief executives of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) and Construction Products Association (CPA) have warned that challenging market conditions are leading to cutbacks in recruitment.<\/p>\n

In a statement, they said slowing activity<\/a> and demand in housebuilding and the domestic repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market means employers are cutting back on hiring, investing in apprentices and upskilling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimply put, despite thousands of applicants, employers are not employing in these sectors,\u201d said BMF chief executive John Newcomb and CPA chief executive Peter Caplehorn, who are also co-chairs of the Construction Leadership Council\u2019s<\/a> Material Supply Chain Group.<\/p>\n

The pair said that the third quarter of 2025 saw flat or declining sales of building materials compared with the same period last year, in what was the \u201cmost challenging trading environments in over 10 years, characterised by sustained weakness in demand, margin pressures, and limited signs of recovery\u201d.<\/p>\n

While many businesses face financial challenges and a slump in confidence, there are some small areas of growth, mostly around energy generation and efficiency (including heat pumps and solar panels) and data centre construction, as well as commercial fit-out and refurbishment at the high-end, Newcomb and Caplehorn said.<\/p>\n

But they said the boost to the construction sector brought by large infrastructure projects such as airport expansions and the increase in data centre and prison building cannot fully offset the slowdown in new-build housing.<\/p>\n

Using the brick market as an example, which is often flagged as a reliable indicator of activity in the housebuilding sector, Newcomb and Caplehorn noted that year-on-year sales grew 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 and 15 per cent over the second quarter. However, in August, 7 per cent fewer bricks were sold compared with the same month in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany housing developers accelerated build programmes in anticipation of improved market conditions following the Spring Statement and the lowering of interest rates, resulting in a temporary increase in material use,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expected rise in consumer confidence has yet to materialise. With plots left unfinished due to a lack of buyers, demand for key materials has slowed. This is a trend likely to continue into the early months of 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published today (22 October), showed inflation in the UK remained stuck at 3.8 per cent in September, still stubbornly above the Bank of England\u2019s target. With inflation remaining sticky, the prospect of a market-boosting cut to interest rates remains remote.<\/p>\n

As such, Newcomb and Caplehorn said there is a \u201cgenuine risk of a loss in both capacity and workforce that will lead to a more pronounced shortage in the medium-term\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will make the Construction Skills Mission Board\u2019s target to achieve an additional 100,000 new recruits per annum into the industry by the end of this parliament that much more challenging,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

Newcomb and Caplehorn said where there is growth, such as in energy installation and data centres, employers should be encouraged to invest in new hires and upskilling. In struggling sectors, like housebuilding and RMI, they called on the government to provide \u201csome kind of demand-side stimulus\u201d.<\/p>\n

The pair concluded that while the construction sector continues to exhibit resilience in the face of enormous challenges, it should continue a dialogue with government and make it aware of the seriousness of the issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to criticise, but to encourage meaningful engagement and policy support that can help rebuild confidence, safeguard jobs, and sustain investment across the construction sector,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The chief executives of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) and Construction Products Association (CPA) have warned that challenging market conditions are leading to cutbacks in recruitment. In a statement, they said slowing activity and demand in housebuilding and the domestic repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market means employers are cutting back on hiring, investing in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155754,"featured_media":360440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[575],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-531371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skills"],"yoast_head":"\nIndustry leaders fear recruitment cutbacks due to slowing market | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The chief executives of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) and Construction Products Association (CPA) have warned that challenging market conditions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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