Get Ready For Summer With Lightweight Work Trousers

The winter months have undoubtedly been a grim time in more ways than one for those working in construction. It is not just that there has been less employment around as the sector has slowed down in line with an economy slipping into recession; those who have been at work will have endured an awful lot of rain.

With the last 18 months in England being the wettest on record, it might be tempting to think the best way to approach summer could be to get a raincoat suited to warmer temperatures. But it is more likely that things will get at least a little nearer normal even in a time of record global temperatures, as the ‘El Nino’ phenomenon is due to ease off in the next few months.

Assuming summer is a bit warmer and drier, that means days on building sites could be a bit more pleasant, provided you aren’t wearing clothes that are too hot and you remember the sun cream for any exposed skin.

Wearing shorts might be going a little far, but lightweight work trousers will certainly be ideal for a warm day outdoors, giving your skin some protection against any objects or substances that may cause harm to it while keeping you reasonably cool.

While we wait for some decent weather to replace the ever-present rain, there is, finally, a bit of good news to cheer everyone up a bit. The latest Standard & Poor’s Global Purchasing Managers Index for Construction has recorded a reading of 50.2 for March.

In case you’re unfamiliar with this survey, any index figure above 50 indicates orders for construction equipment and materials were up from the previous month, which means the sector is growing.

In this case, March saw the first positive month since August last year. That suggests we are not just edging out of recession across the economy as a whole, but specifically in the construction sector. The figures show civil engineering projects are leading the way, while commercial and house building remain static for now.

If this is the shape of things to come (and hopefully not just a sequence of months where we are only seeing slight growth), there should be more civil engine engineering projects, more homes being built and more jobs, although the survey said the last of these things hasn’t started to happen just yet.

Of course, they say one swallow doesn’t make a summer (a bit like one sunny day when you have those lightweight work trousers on), but after lots of bad news on both the economic and meteorological fronts, we can all hope things soon get better. After all, the swallows will probably be fed up with the rain too.

Whether or not the construction sector bounces back strongly or recovers more gradually in the next few months, we can at least hope for some dry and warm days when the right clothing on building sites will be light and eyewear will be dark. The waterproofs will, hopefully, spend more time in the cupboard than they have the last few months.