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UK salary report · 2026

Construction Worker Salary in South East

Official ONS earnings for South East.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Grouped occupation Imprecise estimate Where this comes from →

Median salary — South East

£31,935

gross, per year, all employees

▲ 8.1% change on the previous year

Mean

£33,409

What most construction workers actually earn

Half of construction workers in South East earn between £29,113 and £44,386. Earning above £44,386 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.

ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Construction and Building Trades” group in South East.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of construction workers earn less than this.

10th
£20,908
20th
£27,562
25th
£29,113
30th
£30,561
40th
£33,795
50th
£35,924
60th
£39,839
70th
£42,605
75th
£44,386
Check where your salary sits

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group
Construction and building trades n.e.c.
SOC 2020 code
5319
Measure
Gross annual pay, all employees
Edition
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional

ONS publishes a sampling error of 16.5% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank South East against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.

ONS doesn't measure “construction worker” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Construction and building trades n.e.c.”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures a residual group - construction trades it does not name separately, so this is not a general labouring figure.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.

Construction Worker salary FAQs

What is the average Construction Worker salary in South East?

The median is £31,935 a year and the mean is £33,409, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.

How much does a construction worker earn per hour?

Across the UK the median hourly rate is £17.01 excluding overtime, or £17.50 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for South East.

What is a good Construction Worker salary?

Half of construction workers earn between £29,113 and £44,386. Anything above £44,386 is in the top quarter for the role.

What is the starting salary for a construction worker?

ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of construction workers earn under £20,908 and the lowest quarter under £29,113 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.

Do construction workers in South East earn more than the UK average?

The median in South East is £31,935 against £34,378 across the UK, 7.1% lower. ONS marks the South East figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.

Has construction worker pay gone up in the last year?

ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +8.1% for this occupation in South East. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.

Is this figure official?

Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.

Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.

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