Britain’s shrinking construction workforce risks becoming a significant constraint on the recovery of the window and door market, with the loss of experienced tradespeople threatening to push up labour costs just as demand begins to improve.
Construction employment stood at 2.07mn in the second quarter of 2026, unchanged from the previous quarter but 0.5 per cent lower than a year earlier, according to Office for National Statistics figures highlighted by Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association.
The more worrying comparison is with the period before the succession of shocks that have hit the industry. Construction employment is now 14.5 per cent below its recent peak in the first quarter of 2019 and has remained around its lowest level since 2001 during the past year.
For the fenestration industry, that matters.
Window and door demand is closely tied to housebuilding and the repair, maintenance and improvement market, both of which have endured a prolonged period of subdued activity. When fewer homes are being built and households are reluctant to commit to major improvements, the impact eventually works its way through the supply chain, from systems companies and fabricators to installers.
But Francis argues that something more structural has been happening beneath the downturn.
Skilled people who have lost work during the past three or four years have not necessarily waited for construction to recover. Many have moved into other industries or left the country in search of more secure employment. Crucially, Francis believes many will not return.
That creates a potential problem for fenestration when demand does recover. An installer who has spent years fitting windows, doors and glazed extensions cannot simply be replaced overnight. The industry loses not only a pair of hands when an experienced tradesperson leaves, but years of practical knowledge.
The composition of construction employment is also changing. Self-employment fell 2.9 per cent during the second quarter, while employee numbers increased 2.5 per cent.
HMRC’s expansion of Making Tax Digital from April could accelerate that shift. Francis suggests some subcontractors could retire early, leave the industry, become PAYE employees or establish limited companies.
For window and door businesses already struggling to recruit skilled installers, any further reduction in the pool of experienced subcontractors could add another layer of pressure.
The irony is that the greatest strain may emerge when conditions finally improve.
A recovery in housing transactions, new-build activity and home improvement spending would release demand back into the fenestration market. Yet if installer capacity has contracted during the downturn, companies could find themselves competing for labour, pushing installation rates higher and extending lead times.
That also raises a broader question about the government’s ambitions for housing and energy efficiency. Delivering more new homes, upgrading Britain’s existing housing stock and moving towards net zero will require enormous volumes of windows, doors and glazing.
Manufacturing those products is only half the equation. Someone still has to install them.
