£140bn Built, 40m Days Lost: UK Making in Numbers
Britain is a nation that builds, repairs and tinkers. From loft conversions in Leeds to resin printers in spare bedrooms in Bristol, making has not gone away. It has just become harder to see in one place. We pulled together 24 verified statistics from the ONS, the Health and Safety Executive and the Federation of Master Builders so you do not have to hunt through five separate bulletins. Every number below was fetched and checked against its source page. If we could not verify it, we left it out.
You will find the scale of what the UK builds, the quiet boom in repair work, what it costs when safety slips, how small builders are feeling the squeeze, and what household budgets have to do with your next DIY job. Each section ends with a practical take for your own workshop or home.
1. How much Britain builds
The headline figure is still enormous even when growth is modest. The value of construction new work in current prices in Great Britain during 2024 increased by 1.4% to £140,684 million, a record high in current prices, according to the ONS Construction Statistics, Great Britain: 2024. That rise was driven entirely by public sector new work, which rose 6.7% or £2,592 million, while private sector new work fell 0.7% or £688,000.
Forward demand looks stronger on paper. Construction new orders grew by 5.6% in 2024 to £71,707 million, driven by private commercial, other public non-housing and private infrastructure, which increased by 18.8%, 18.3% and 15.4% respectively. The only sectors to fall were private new housing, public new housing and private industrial, which fell by 10.9% and 6.5% respectively, the same ONS article reports.
The workforce to deliver it was 1.4 million employees excluding self-employment, up 0.6% in Quarter 3 2024 compared with Quarter 3 2023, totalling 1.4 million workers, as sourced from the Inter-Departmental Business Register. Scotland was the sole contributor to growth with 7.9% more employees, while Wales decreased by 2.3% and England showed no growth on the year. The number of registered construction firms also rose, with Scotland up 2.2% or 483 more firms, England up 1.7% or 5,681 firms and Wales up 0.6% or 92 firms.
Costs kept climbing. The all-work Construction Output Price Index saw annual price growth of 3.4% in December 2024, the ONS notes. That is the price pressure every maker feels at the merchants when timber, plasterboard and fixings creep up even if headline inflation cools.
2. The repair economy has quietly taken over
New build gets the headlines, but repair and maintenance now does the heavy lifting. Annual construction output increased by 0.4% in 2024 compared with 2023, the fourth consecutive year of annual growth, according to the ONS Construction output bulletin December 2024.
The composition tells the story. The annual increase in 2024 came entirely from repair and maintenance, which rose by 8.5%, as new work decreased by 5.3%. Non-housing repair and maintenance and private housing repair and maintenance were the largest positive contributors, growing by 8.5% and 7.0% respectively, while infrastructure new work was the main drag, falling 9.3%.
Even the monthly data fits. Monthly construction output fell by 0.2% in volume terms in December 2024, driven by a 1.8% fall in repair and maintenance as new work grew 1.1% on the month. Quarterly output grew by 0.5% in Quarter 4 2024 compared with Quarter 3, driven by a 1.2% rise in new work as repair and maintenance dipped 0.4%.
3. The price of making keeps rising
Beyond the ONS price index, small builders report the same squeeze in real time. In the Federation of Master Builders State of Trade Survey for Q4 2024, 54% of respondents noted an increase in material costs in Q4 compared with Q3, a number which was already up significantly on Q2, and around three quarters of FMB members expect that trend to continue into 2025, according to the FMB State of Trade Q4 2024.
Demand softened at the same time. 35% of members reported a decline in workloads and 46% reported a decline in enquiries. Workloads on a net balance decreased by 11%, down from minus 5% the previous quarter. Employment also slipped, with 25% of members reporting a decrease in the number of employees, similar to 23% in Q3 and 24% in Q2 but lower than 28% in Q1 2024.
Put the two together and you get tighter margins and choosier customers, which is exactly when good DIY decisions matter.
4. The human cost: days lost and lives lost
Making and building carry risk, and the Health and Safety Executive data is a sobering check. An estimated 40.1 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2024/25, according to HSE working days lost statistics. Of those, 35.7 million days were due to work-related ill health and 4.4 million days due to non-fatal workplace injuries. The current rate is 1.46 working days lost per worker, similar to the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level after a broadly flat period before the pandemic.
Fatal injuries remain concentrated in a few sectors and causes. In 2025/26, 126 workers were killed in work-related accidents, of which 25 were employed in the construction sector, 22 in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 18 in manufacturing, 15 in transportation and storage, 11 in wholesale, retail and motor vehicle repair, accommodation and food, 9 in admin and support services and 6 in waste and recycling, according to HSE work-related fatal injuries statistics.
The pattern of how people die has not changed much. In 2025/26, 31 workers were fatally injured as a result of falls from a height, 24 from being struck by a moving vehicle, 21 from being struck by a moving object, 18 from being trapped by something collapsing or overturning and 10 due to contact with moving machinery. Males continue to account for the vast majority, with 93% of workers fatally injured in 2025/26 being men, and workers aged 60 and over accounted for around a third of fatalities, with 40 of the 126 worker deaths in that age group, even though such workers made up only 12% of the workforce.
5. Household budgets push more people toward DIY
The other half of the DIY equation is money. Average weekly household expenditure increased to £676.60, a nominal increase of £53.30 or 9% from the previous year, and after accounting for inflation a real-terms increase of £35.10 or 5%, according to the ONS Family spending in the UK bulletin.
Housing costs dominate. Spending on housing (net), fuel and power was the largest share at 18% or £118.40 per week, up by £5.60 or 5% a week since the financial year ending 2024, with transport the next largest at 14% or £96.40. When the roof, rent and energy take that much, paying a tradesperson for every small fix competes hard with doing it yourself.
That is not an argument for tackling gas or notifiable electrics without competence, but it does explain why searches for how-to guides, tool comparisons and small-batch 3D printed fixes keep rising.
How we chose these numbers
We started with the ONS construction output and construction statistics articles, the HSE working days lost and fatal injuries pages, the FMB State of Trade Survey Q4 2024 and the ONS Family spending bulletin. For each stat we fetched the source page, confirmed the sentence actually contains the number, and linked it inline. If a page was behind a challenge wall, required JavaScript to render the figure, or did not state the number clearly, we dropped it. The result is not exhaustive, it is just the set we could verify today. If you spot a better UK source we missed, let us know and we will check it for the next collation.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics - Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2024 - £140,684m new work (+1.4%), £71,707m new orders (+5.6%), 1.4m workers (+0.6%), 3.4% price growth, firm counts.
- Office for National Statistics - Construction output in Great Britain: December 2024 (and new orders / price indices Oct-Dec 2024) - 0.4% annual growth (fourth consecutive year), R&M +8.5% and new work -5.3%, monthly -0.2% in Dec 2024, Q4 +0.5%.
- Health and Safety Executive - Working days lost in Great Britain - 40.1m days lost (35.7m ill health + 4.4m injuries), 1.46 days per worker.
- Health and Safety Executive - Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain - 126 workers killed in 2025/26, 25 in construction, 31 falls from height, 93% men, 40 aged 60+.
- Federation of Master Builders - State of Trade Survey Q4 2024 - 54% material cost rise, 35% workloads down, 46% enquiries down, 25% employment down.
- Office for National Statistics - Family spending in the UK - £676.60 per week (+£53.30 nominal, +£35.10 real), housing/fuel/power 18% (£118.40).
Frequently asked questions
Is the UK building more or less than last year?
Total construction output grew by 0.4% in 2024 compared with 2023, which is the fourth consecutive year of annual growth. Within that, repair and maintenance rose 8.5% while new work fell 5.3%, so the UK is building slightly more overall but doing far more fixing than starting new projects.
How many working days are lost to work-related ill health in the UK?
An estimated 40.1 million working days were lost in 2024/25 due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries. About 35.7 million of those were due to ill health and 4.4 million to injuries. That works out at 1.46 days lost per worker.
What is the biggest cause of fatal injuries at work?
Falls from a height. In 2025/26, 31 workers were fatally injured this way, about a quarter of all worker fatalities. Being struck by a moving vehicle (24) and being struck by a moving object (21) were the next most common causes.
Are small builders seeing rising costs?
Yes. In Q4 2024, 54% of Federation of Master Builders members said material costs rose compared with Q3 and about three quarters expect costs to keep rising into 2025. At the same time 35% reported lower workloads and 46% reported fewer enquiries.
How much does the average UK household spend per week?
Average weekly household expenditure rose to £676.60 in the financial year ending 2025, up £53.30 (9%) in nominal terms. After inflation the rise was £35.10 (5%). Housing, fuel and power remains the largest share at 18% or £118.40 per week.
If you found this useful, bookmark it for the next time you need a cited number for a project plan, a quote or a funding application. We will refresh this collation monthly as new ONS and HSE releases land.
Alex writes about tools, tech and DIY projects for MakerUK - from home servers to 3D printers. He has a fully equipped workshop and has been building and repairing things for over 12 years.
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Last reviewed: 6 September 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links