Further action needs to be taken if there are to be enough new homes in the country, Shelter said this week, in news that could affect the construction jobs market.

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Commenting on recent figures from the government relating to annual housing starts and completions, the organisation said there was a fundamental lack of residential properties being created.

Since the September quarter of last year, building starts have decreased by 35 per cent, reaching 83,080. When compared to numbers from 2005-6, this represents a 55 per cent decrease.

Completions have also gone down, totalling 122,000 in the past year - a fall of over a fifth.

Director of policy and campaigns at Shelter Key Boycott said there is a "huge growing need" for more projects.

"The recession has had a devastating effect on the building industry, but this and any future government must find ways of making investment in housing a top priority," she added.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the statistics are "weak" when compared to historical levels.