Construction confidence has jumped to its highest level in more than a year, and the detail behind the headline is all about people.

Construction Enquirer reported on 31 July that the latest Lloyds Business Barometer put overall confidence in the sector at 56%, up 10 points on the month and well clear of the 12-month average of 47%. The survey, carried out between 1 and 16 July, found that 67% of firms expect business activity to increase over the next year.

The figure that matters most for this site is the hiring one. Some 65% of construction firms said they plan to take on more staff, up from 55% in June. More than half of respondents put their improved outlook down to stronger customer demand, while 38% pointed to easing interest rates and better financial conditions.

Max Jones, Lloyds director and head of construction, said the rise in confidence suggests firms are becoming more willing to plan beyond the next project, and that it was encouraging to see businesses "beginning to invest in people and the capacity they'll need to support future demand". Across the wider economy, overall UK business confidence rose 5 points to 49%, a four-month high.

A note of caution first. This is a sentiment survey, not an order book. Recent activity data has been soft, and confidence surveys measure what boards believe, not what sites are doing. But in my 22 years as a QS and my years since in executive search, I have learned that hiring intention numbers are worth taking seriously. Recruitment budgets get signed off on exactly this kind of boardroom mood, and a 10-point swing in one month is a genuine shift, not noise.

What it means for careers and hiring

When two thirds of an industry says it intends to add heads, the practical effects arrive in a predictable order.

Work-winning roles move first. Firms that expect demand to rise staff up in pre-construction before anything else, so expect competition for estimators, bid managers, planners and pre-construction leads to sharpen through the autumn. Commercial and delivery roles follow as tenders convert, usually a quarter or two behind.

For candidates, this is the moment to test the market rather than wait for the upturn to be obvious. The best time to move is when confidence is rising but hiring has not yet fully caught up, because that is when employers stretch on package and title to secure people ahead of need. Once everyone is recruiting at once, offers get faster but not necessarily better, and counter-offers get aggressive.

For employers, the warning is in the same number. If 65% of your competitors plan to hire, the people you want are about to have options. The firms that win the next cycle will be the ones that tidy up their interview processes, shorten time to offer and lock in their own key staff now, before someone else's plan lands on your best QS's phone.