Direct competition

Economic Week In Review | Issue 498 | 22 September 2025

UK construction and property

  • Labour clash | The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) has warned that net-zero schemes will be in direct competition with infrastructure projects for labour in the next five years, with the skills body estimating that 40,000 new electrical construction workers will be needed for major projects up to 2030.
  • Construction vacancies have fallen by a quarter over the past year as demand for new recruitments cools. Despite the decrease in vacancies, the data also showed that jobs in construction increased from 2.16 million in June 2024 to 2.21 million in June 2025, a 2.5% increase.
  • Construction insolvencies increased slightly in July when compared with June. The Insolvency Service figures show 322 construction companies went into administration or liquidation in July – up 2.5% on the previous month’s total of 314 but down 3.5% on July last year.
  • PPE guidance | The British Standards Institution (BSI) has set out practical guidance for PPE to ensure it accommodates a workforce diverse in gender, ethnicity, body shape, age, and disability. The new standard offers evidence-based steps to help employers reduce risk, meet legal obligations, and improve staff recruitment and retention.
  • Global construction standards | RICS is developing a unified professional standard for quantity surveying and project management, replacing 32 guidance notes from 2009 to 2021. The consultation is from 16 September to 24 October, with the final standard expected to launch in Q1 2026 after reviewing responses.

Global economy

  • Fed rates | The Federal Reserve officially cut interest rates by 0.25%, marking its first rate cut of the year. Eleven of the 12 voting members on the Fed board backed the cut, which takes the US interest rate to a range of 4% to 4.5%.
  • Innovative nations | According to the UN Innovation Index (GII), China has replaced Germany in the top 10 most innovative countries. China leads in knowledge and tech outputs, innovation clusters, and patent filings, which is widely seen as an important sign of a country’s economic strength and industrial know-how.

UK economy

  • Tech deal | The UK government has secured £150 billion worth of US investment, which it hopes will create 7,600 jobs. The technology deal will see the UK and US cooperate in areas including AI, quantum computing, and nuclear power.
  • Wage growth has fallen to the lowest level since 2022 against the backdrop of a cooling labour market. The number of payrolled workers fell by a further 8,000 last month, with another 10,000 drop in vacancies over the quarter to August.
  • Living standards | According to findings from the Resolution Foundation, families in Britain are tens of thousands of pounds worse off due to two decades of sharply declining living standards. A typical household today would be £20,000 richer if incomes had continued at the rate of growth seen in 2005.
  • Interest rates | The Bank of England has left interest rates at 4%. Bank policymakers have been trying to balance the risks of rising inflation, caused in part by a jump in food prices and a continuing slowdown in the jobs market, with employment at a four-year high.
  • Borrowing | UK borrowing has hit a five-year high for August at £18 billion, £3.5 billion more than the same month a year earlier. Total borrowing for the financial year to date jumped to £83.3 billion, which was £16 billion higher than in 2024 and the highest level since the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

Materials and commodities

  • Steel tariffs | The UK has paused its push to cut US steel tariffs, which currently stand at 25%, to zero as originally agreed earlier this year. The UK still enjoys a comparative advantage over other producers who face a 50% levy on steel. The pause was driven by the melt and pour rule, which could see some UK exports subject to a 50% tariff rather than the current blanket 25%.

Environment

  • Greenhouse fees | Nearly 200 shipping companies have voiced support for a global fee on greenhouse gas emissions. If approved, the rules would take effect in 2027 and apply to large ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which accounts for 85% of shipping emissions.
  • Heat-related deaths | Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London has found that climate change intensified summer heat across Europe in 2025, leading to an estimated 16,500 additional deaths in 854 cities, representing 68% of the 24,400 heat-related deaths this summer.

Friday to Friday

Price / Index Week %
change		 Annual %
change
FTSE 100 9,216.67 -0.72 11.99
FTSE 250 21,589.93 -0.16 3.64
Nikkei 45,045.81 0.62 19.41
CSI 300 4,501.92 -0.44 40.64
S&P 500 6,664.36 1.17 16.87
Nasdaq 22,631.48 2.21 26.09
CAC 40 7,853.59 0.36 4.71
Dax 23,639.41 -0.25 26.28
$ per £ 1.3484 -0.45 1.35
€ per £ 1.1473 -0.78 -3.78
Gold £/oz 2,735.73 1.81 39.01
Brent Oil $/barrel 66.68 -0.46 -10.76

Weekly Summary

Last week’s hopes for lower tariffs on steel vanished before President Trump landed, but the news shows how much of a global product steel is and, therefore, how many tensions need to be balanced in the industry. News of slowing wage growth and falling vacancy rates in the wider economy and in construction suggests that the labour market is cooling, which could compound the concerns raised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board.

Author contact

Rachel Coleman
Rachel Coleman,
Associate Research Analyst
Kishan Patel
Kishan Patel,
Research Analyst

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