The number of European Union-born workers in the UK construction industry dropped by more than a quarter in 12 months.
In the third quarter of 2020, there were 127,000 EU-born workers in the industry, down from 176,000 recorded in the same period in 2019. The 28 per cent drop was greater than the 7 per cent fall in total employment in construction, according to data collected by the Construction Products Association.
Monika Slowikowska, director of London-based residential contractor Golden Houses, told
Construction News that, since January 2020, her staff numbers have dropped from 160 to 68 as people have left the country. She said some of her workers were intent on leaving the UK in 2020 before the end of the Brexit transition period, although the onset of the pandemic in March accelerated the process.