According to the industry’s biggest payer of subcontractors, Hudson Contract, all regions in England have seen double-digit earnings growth year on year taking average CIS weekly wages to £878.

Leading the way are the South West (+29%), the North East (+27%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (+27%)

Month on month, earnings slipped by 4.6%, as expected due to the Easter bank holidays.

The increase in labour costs highlights growing pressure on the supply chain.

Ian Anfield, Hudson managing director, said: “The housing market is in a state of frenzy with mortgage lending rising to record levels, homeowners are spending cash piles built up during lockdowns on renovation and remodelling work and the government is proceeding with mega-projects and shovel-ready schemes to ‘build back better’.

“The UK economy is roaring so the challenge now is for the construction industry to keep pace while dealing with spikes in demand for skilled labour and materials.

“Clients are now telling us the materials crisis is outstripping the skills shortage as the main threat to their growth prospects and the main cause of inflation in construction costs.”