Trade Services Labour Demand | July-Sept 2024

About the Author: Ashley Thomson
Ashley Thomson

In this briefing:

Update on labour demand for the quarter April – June 2024

The Tenfold Construction Job Index tracks levels of demand for roles in key trades. By tracking the number of jobs ads for tradie roles of plumbers , electricians, landscapers, and carpenters, we keep our clients informed and provide relevant insights to support recruitment strategies.

Here’s what tradies need to know about the labour trends of the quarter for July – September 2024.

Labour Demand for Electricians

Demand for electricians continues to remain high:

Line graph charting labour demand for electricians in July - Sept 2024

What the data tells us: Electricians continue to be the most in demand of all the trades. This quarter the demand was trending down across July and August before a couple of big upticks in September. The number of roles being advertised and recruited for across the July – September period varied, with a high of 80 at the beginning of the quarter to a low of 53 ads listed at the end of September.

Our coaching advice to electrical contractor businesses: competition for electricians is expected to trend up in the last quarter of 2024. Consider your pipeline for the next quarter to manage your recruitment needs appropriately.

Labour Demand for Plumbers

What the data tells us: After an uplift in demand early in the quarter, recruitment for plumbers stabilised with a slight trend down across the backend of July through to September. Previous years have seen labour demand drop in the October-December quarter.

Our coaching advice to plumbing contractor businesses: The Oct-Dec quarter generally has the lowest demand for plumbers, therefore there’s less competition in recruiting. Consider putting your oar in the water this quarter to get a jump on the competition if you’re expecting to have need for good plumbers next quarter.

Labour Demand for Landscapers

What the data tells us: Spring is the peak season for landscapers and gardeners so there’s no surprise that labour demand was trending up, before peaking in mid-September.

Our coaching advice to landscape construction businesses: The challenge of recruiting for your high workloads in spring means you need lots of bodies. That bears the risk taking on any bodies that apply, even though those same people might cause you problems (not turn up for jobs, make avoidable mistakes, be unreliable). The best way to avoid the cost (of money AND time) in recruiting is to get your hiring processes right. Talk with a coach at Tenfold to get tips specifically for recruiting labourers for landscaping.

Labour Demand for Carpenters

What the data tells us: Demand for carpenters was stable for most of the quarter before starting to rise in September. As we come into the crazy Christmas period, expect demand to continue to increase as builders and their clients want to get jbos finished and handed over before the end of the year.

Our coaching advice to carpentry businesses: Expect competition for good chippies and labourers to be high in October before scaling back. If your projects are going to need extra hands, consider using different recruitment tactics than your competitors to get better cut-through.

Bringing it all together

Strong resource management is essential for service-based businesses in the construction trades. Ensure your tradie business is looking ahead and adjusting your plans accordingly. If you want to explore how business coaching can help you read the play and make informed decisions, contact Tenfold.