Almost six years on from our 2017 workforce census, the Home Builders Federation has re-conducted the census of the home building industry’s onsite workforce, to see how the make-up of the industry has changed post-Brexit and post-pandemic.

Much of the patterns of the workforce have remained consistent since the 2017 results, with the role of EU and other overseas workers remaining critical for the industry to be able to meet housing demand.

The 2023 Workforce Census finds that:

• The on-site home building workforce is overwhelmingly male, with 96.1% of respondents identifying as male
• The role of migrant workers in the UK industry has stayed consistent, but the role of non-EU/EEA overseas workers has grown, while the proportion of EU workers has reduced
• The largest EU nationality represented in the workforce is Romanian
• London has the greatest proportion of overseas workers, with 50.8% of the workforce being EU/EEA nationals and 13.7% from other overseas nations
• The workforce has a fairly even split in terms of age, with 57% of respondents aged under 40
• The most prevalent age group is 30-39, making up 27% of total respondents
• EU respondents tended to be younger than UK or other nationality respondents
• The role of overseas workers in the homebuilding industry is more pronounced for certain trades, with 28% of general labourers, 25% of plasterers and 25% painter and decorator roles filled by non-UK employees compared to just 8% in plumbing and 9% in management and professional role