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BUSINESS HELPDESK HELP DESK


MERCHANT EMPLOYMENT TRENDS 2024


Once again, the BMF’s annual Remuneration Survey - covering the 12 months ending April 2024 - provides some interesting insights.


membership by 2030. To date 11548 new apprenticeships have been pledged.


However, there is little evidence of an increase in the number of apprentices joining the sector in the 12 months to April 2024. This year’s national figure for the percentage of apprentices as part of the workforce (0.99%) is lower than in 2023 (1.09%), which in turn was lower than 2022 (1.72%).


This may be due a contraction in construction output and the building materials market. Nonetheless, it is disappointing to see the percentage of apprentices falling year on year.


THE BMF’S ANNUAL Remuneration Survey a key annual report based on member data. While much of the detail is shared exclusively with BMF members, we can share top- line figures around pay rises, employee retention, gender diversity and apprenticeships.


Salaries and employee retention


With inflation now falling, the median increase for salaries across the UK dropped to 3%, down from 5% in 2023, and is back in line with the median salary KPI for 2022 (3%).


It seems fewer people were seeking new opportunities elsewhere, as employee retention levels at builders’ merchants across the UK improved. The churn level – or employee turnover rate – fell to 19.36% in 2024, down from 21% in 2023 and 19.66% in 2022.


There were, however, regional variations, with London and the South East south of the


Thames both experiencing churn rates above 27%. At the other extreme, the churn rate in Wales was only 11.97%. Wales also saw the highest median wage increase at 4%.


Gender diversity in merchanting


Another KPI tracked annually is the ratio of male to female employees, which provides a measure of progress in gender diversity within the sector. This year’s figure shows little or no improvement on the previous two years, and in several regions, the gender balance has regressed. However, the overall figure was ameliorated by two regions returning a far more positive result.


Rounded to the nearest whole number, the male:female ratio nationally was 82:18 in 2024 – against 83:17 in 2023 and 81:19 in 2022. The star performers – East Midlands (67:33) and North West (69:31) - bettered the national average considerably.


July 2024 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


The worst performer was South East south of the Thames, where the ratio was 87:13.


The BMF is making its biggest ever investment in an ongoing programme to promote awareness of building materials in order to develop greater public awareness of the sector and attract a broader cross section of candidates for member vacancies. With the national launch of this campaign planned for this autumn, we would hope to see a better mix in gender diversity and other social factors in the coming years.


Training and Apprenticeships Apprenticeships are a great way to train new recruits, and the number of apprentices as a percentage of the total workforce is another KPI measured in the Remuneration Report.


Last autumn the BMF launched the BMF Apprenticeship Pledge, which aims to achieve 15,000 apprentices across our


Despite this, some regions did out-perform the national average, although London (2.9%) was the only region to report apprenticeship levels over 2% in 2024, whereas four regions achieved this is 2023. On a slightly more positive note, some regions reported improvements in the gender balance of their apprentices. While the national split sat at 80:20 (male to female) this was significantly bettered by West Midlands (56:41) and, most impressively by South East north of the Thames (48:52) where women took the larger share of their apprenticeships. We would hope to see the momentum created by the two BMF initiatives leading to further progress next year. BMJ


The BMF’s Remuneration Report is one of many business reports and services provided to members. To find out more about the benefits of membership visit www.bmf.org.uk, email: info@bmf.org.uk or phone us on 02476 854980.


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