Employees throughout Australia’s construction sector expect larger pay rises over the current financial year compared with those that employers intend to offer, new data shows.

And almost half of all construction workers are dissatisfied with their current salary.

In the 2025/26 edition of the Hays Salary Guide, global recruitment and workforce solutions firm Hays has provided salary and remuneration insights for more than 1,000 roles across 25 industries.

In terms of construction, the report highlights a divergence between employee expectations and employer intentions.

All up, the survey found that 39 percent of construction employees anticipate a pay rise which exceeds five percent during 2025/26.

However, only 20 percent of employers plan to offer increases of this magnitude.

Furthermore, only just over half (57 percent) of construction employees are satisfied with their current salary.

Across the construction sector, the report also found that:

• Benefits which are most valued by employees include flexible working, additional annual leave and a company car or car allowance.
• Only one quarter (24 percent) workers who were surveyed see ‘significant scope’ for career progression and advancement within their current roles. A further 56 percent see only minor to moderate opportunity whilst 20 percent report little or no scope at all.
• The top five roles in demand are civil project engineers, project managers, estimators, site managers and contract administrators.

Austin Blackburne, Senior Regional Director – Construction at Hays, says there is a clear gap between what employers can offer and what professionals expect.

“Expectations are rising, but progress lags,” Blackburne said.

“There’s clear evidence that construction professionals are seeking more than incremental increases – and they’re not always finding it.

“Without greater investment in salary growth and progression pathways, there’s a risk of increased churn across the industry.”

During an interview with Sourcable, Blackburne said that much of the difference in pay expectations has arisen out of the cost and inflation environment which emerged over recent years – albeit with pressures having eased over the past twelve months.

For employers, rising construction costs have driven a need to not only limit remuneration increases but to also get more from their existing workforce.

This has led to the creation of consolidated roles that would normally be filled by two or three people.

For workers, many who face cost of living pressures have needed to take on these roles.

This has resulted in heavier workloads, more responsibility, longer hours and greater expectation of pay increases.

Market easing but still strong

The latest report comes as recent data suggests that the market for construction workers remains strong despite having eased back from its peak.

As of May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that the seasonally adjusted number of people who were employed in construction stood at 1.317 million. This is below the 1.379 million record set in February but remained well above pre-COVID level of 1.185 million that was recorded in November 2019.

Meanwhile, data from Jobs and Skills Australia shows that vacancy levels for construction and production managers, engineers, construction tradespeople and construction and mining labourers remain at elevated levels despite having eased back over the past twelve months.

Over coming years, demand for workers is expected to strengthen further on account of a recovery in housing construction, a ramp up in renewable energy investment and work associated with the Brisbane Olympics.

In the May edition of its Construction Market Report, Australian Construction Industry Forum forecasted that construction industry employment levels will reach almost 1.6 million by 2028/29.

Myths and facts

According to Blackburne, misconceptions regarding remuneration exist across several areas.

First, there is an idea that the most talented people all wish to work for tier one contractors.

Whilst many staff do indeed like to work on highly visible landmark projects, Blackburne says that there are opportunities for tier two and three contractors to attract talent.

Another misconception is that candidates are necessarily attracted by the largest salaries and the widest possible range of benefits.

In terms of salary, Blackburne says the data indicates that employee satisfaction levels are driven not by this alone but also by other factors such as work-life balance.

In fact, he notes that much of the dissatisfaction regarding salary is most evident among employees who sit at the higher end of the pay scale.

In terms of benefits, Blackburn says that the most highly valued benefits are flexible working arrangements and additional annual leave. Other items such as gym memberships are less important workers.

This opens up opportunities for smaller firms to attract and retain skilled workers by focusing on these two areas.

This is particularly important as many firms seek to attract more female stuff.

Furthermore, benefits which are most valued vary according to different worker cohorts.

For those with family responsibilities, flexibility regarding school drop off and child pick up times is often valued above overall remuneration levels.

Meanwhile, younger workers value lifestyle, support for study and professional development, career progression and mentoring programs whilst many older workers value health insurance and security.

Employers who cater for these requirements are likely to enjoy a competitive advantage in securing and retaining their preferred personnel.

Third, there are misconceptions about the skills which are most in demand.

Overall, Blackburne says that the market remains ‘candidate short’ and largely driven by infrastructure.

From a technical viewpoint, he says that there are growing shortages for expertise in specific areas such as data centres and energy.

However, the biggest area of demand is for engineers and others whose skills extend beyond technical capabilities to also include people management abilities in leadership, teamwork and client communication.

This, Blackburn says, is critical.

Around a decade ago, he says that engineers would operate ‘in the back room’ whilst client interactions would be managed by client-side project managers.

Nowadays, there is a need for engineers who can liaise with clients and display adaptability, teamwork, and effective communication.

Finally, Blackburn says that there can be a misconception among employees that higher salaries will necessarily lead to greater satisfaction.

In fact, he says that many workers feel underpaid as they progress through their career even after receiving significant pay rises.

This can be particularly the case where they have taken on roles that involve disproportionate increases in responsibility, stress and pressure.

He advises workers to be aware about where they are at in their career development and to avoid taking on roles which may be beyond what they can reasonably manage.

(image via freepix)

Success strategies

When approaching salary negotiations, Blackburne encourages employers and candidates to remain abreast of information contained within salary guides, online platforms and peer networks.

Doing this will provide each party with realistic hopes about what they should expect.

When doing this, it is important to take a granular approach and to consider the specific micro-niche of the industry involved. Appropriate remuneration levels for project managers in residential building, for instance, would be different to those who manage data centres or tunnelling projects.

Also critical for employees are the teamwork and leadership abilities referred to above.

This is particularly critical in light of the importance of delivering projects on time, on budget and to the required standard.

Finally, whilst stressing the requirement for competitive salaries, Blackburne emphasises the need for employers to offer a positive workplace culture as well as non-financial benefits.

When doing this, he stresses the need to focus on those benefits such as flexible working and additional annual leave which employees value most.

Regarding culture, he says this is critical not only for attracting and retaining preferred employees but also building a team with the ideal qualities and values which the company may be after.

Employers who prioritise flexibility and family friendly policies along with value and respect will naturally attract workers who deliver loyalty, acceptance of diversity and teamwork, he says.

Moving target

Finally, Blackburne stresses that the market is constantly changing when it comes to employment and salary negotiations.

“It’s a moving target, it changes every year,” he said.

“And we’re coming out of a weird time where it was just so cost sensitive.

“Things are picking up, there’s no question. But after COVID and everything else, people value that flexibility.

“And the game has changed.”

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