Jon Boys
@jonathanboys.bsky.social
Research lead / Construction economist at Core Five
I made a gif to show the cyclical nature of construction (and the hyper cyclical nature of housebuilding)
October 21, 2025 at 9:48 AM
I made a gif to show the cyclical nature of construction (and the hyper cyclical nature of housebuilding)
I made a gif to show change in housing tenure by age over the last 20 years. Was quite surprised that the increase in renters goes all the way up to the 65-69yr-old group.
July 9, 2025 at 8:01 AM
I made a gif to show change in housing tenure by age over the last 20 years. Was quite surprised that the increase in renters goes all the way up to the 65-69yr-old group.
I have a chart for this. This is the last 20 years. We're already seeing a big increase in renters in their sixties.
June 16, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I have a chart for this. This is the last 20 years. We're already seeing a big increase in renters in their sixties.
I have a gif for this. I think the answer is that it's a tomorrow problem.
January 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I have a gif for this. I think the answer is that it's a tomorrow problem.
Recently released data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, showed significant growth in the pay of some construction trades. Scaffolders, Painter decorators, and stonemasons all had hourly wage growth greater than 12% in the year to April 2024. The economy wide figure was 6.4%.
November 12, 2024 at 10:56 AM
Recently released data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, showed significant growth in the pay of some construction trades. Scaffolders, Painter decorators, and stonemasons all had hourly wage growth greater than 12% in the year to April 2024. The economy wide figure was 6.4%.
Wage growth continues to strengthen in construction while it held steady in the rest of the private sector. Wages grew by 4.3% in construction (up from 4.1% in the last period). This compares to growth of 4.8% in the private sector.
November 12, 2024 at 10:56 AM
Wage growth continues to strengthen in construction while it held steady in the rest of the private sector. Wages grew by 4.3% in construction (up from 4.1% in the last period). This compares to growth of 4.8% in the private sector.
Job vacancies - a good proxy for labour demand – remain relatively high in construction. They grew 10.2% on the year while decreasing by 13.6% for the economy in general. They are now 37.0% higher than the pre-pandemic level.
November 12, 2024 at 10:55 AM
Job vacancies - a good proxy for labour demand – remain relatively high in construction. They grew 10.2% on the year while decreasing by 13.6% for the economy in general. They are now 37.0% higher than the pre-pandemic level.
1/n. Construction labour market stats update from today's ONS release. There are 366,000 fewer workers in construction now, than at the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. This represents a 15.1% fall in workforce numbers.
November 12, 2024 at 10:55 AM
1/n. Construction labour market stats update from today's ONS release. There are 366,000 fewer workers in construction now, than at the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. This represents a 15.1% fall in workforce numbers.
4/n We can already see the effect of ISG’s collapse in the figures. Rallying demand and a tighter construction labour market should help people find other jobs in the sector.
October 15, 2024 at 10:30 AM
4/n We can already see the effect of ISG’s collapse in the figures. Rallying demand and a tighter construction labour market should help people find other jobs in the sector.
2/n Job Vacancies – a good proxy for labour demand – are increasing in construction. They grew 14.9% on the year while decreasing by 14.4% for the economy in general. They are now 44% higher than the pre-pandemic level.
October 15, 2024 at 10:28 AM
2/n Job Vacancies – a good proxy for labour demand – are increasing in construction. They grew 14.9% on the year while decreasing by 14.4% for the economy in general. They are now 44% higher than the pre-pandemic level.
I have a new job in construction. I'll try to post here occasionally. First, an animated chart showing the dramatic change in housing tenure over 20 years. Gov want to build 1.5m homes and developers are catering to the increasingly large cohort of renters too with a growing build to rent market.
September 27, 2024 at 12:00 PM
I have a new job in construction. I'll try to post here occasionally. First, an animated chart showing the dramatic change in housing tenure over 20 years. Gov want to build 1.5m homes and developers are catering to the increasingly large cohort of renters too with a growing build to rent market.