Housing construction jobs are at their highest since last year
New figures reveal that housing construction jobs are at their highest level since last July. Statistics released from the National House Building Council (NHBC) showed that last month, more than 9,000 new construction jobs started, with 4,000 of those being in the London area. This means an increase in the offering of construction jobs for apprentices and those who have been out of work due to the recession.
Over three months, from August to October 2009, NHBC received 24,896 applications to build new houses in the UK, an increase of 27 per cent from last year.
The boost has also impacted the north-east, where they saw a further 300 per cent increase in the number of houses being built in the region, compared with the same period in 2008.
The chief executive of the National House Building Council, Imtiaz Farookhi said: "It is encouraging that this month's figures yet again show steady improvement in house building, supporting what many in the industry are saying - that the worst may be over."
Mr Farookhi also warned that construction jobs were still lower than they were in 2007, but the next few months will still be a testing time within the sector.
NHBC's role is to work with the house building and wider construction industry to provide risk management services to provide consumer protection for new home buyers, and raise the standards of new homes. The firm are responsible for around 20,000 house developers and builders on their register, who agree to comply with their rules and standards when building new homes.