Scottish construction firms lose 8,500 jobs

More than half of the 83 construction firms which took part in the survey in September reported having cut their workforce since January.

The drop comes on top of 20,000 job losses experienced across the sector in 2008.

Although one in seven firms in the latest report said they had taken on new employees since January, the results show a net reduction of 4 per cent in the size of construction firms’ workforces since the beginning of the year.

Based on the latest employment figures from sector skills body ConstructionSkills, that 4 per cent suggests around 8,500 Scottish construction workers have lost their jobs since the beginning of 2009.

Scottish Building Federation chief executive Michael Levack said: ‘Clearly the picture across the industry is not uniformly negative. A minority of firms are weathering the economic downturn well and taking on more workers as a result.

‘But the fact remains that the recession has forced a majority of Scottish building firms to lay people off since the beginning of this year.

‘And a significant number of firms I’ve been talking to are genuinely fearful that things may yet get worse before they get better.’

The survey shows that companies that have reduced their workforce have done so by an average of 17 per cent.

It also found 59 per cent of firms remained either slightly less confident or much less confident about the prospects facing their business over the next 12 months compared with the previous 12 months.

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