Two thirds of commercial contractors expect to reduce the number of construction workers they employ nationally by 30 percent on average, according to a new survey, on top of job cuts in 2008 amounting to 35 percent of their work forces for a large majority of the industry.
The Associated General Contractors of America issued the bleak forecast this month after polling member companies late last year.
John Butts, assistant executive director of the affiliated Associated General Contractors of Connecticut, said there is no breakdown of the numbers for the state.
“These numbers could change if the stimulus package is approved,” Butts said. “It”™s important to note these numbers reflect no stimulus package and that the size and scope of any stimulus package is still unknown.” He remained “optimistic for the stimulus to bring a momentum to state and federal building projects.”
The hardest hit segment nationally has been in private construction with 94 percent of respondents indicating they have been affected by the recession. Specialists in water utility projects have best kept above water, with just 65 percent saying they have had a downturn in business.
According to McGraw-Hill, building starts dropped 12 percent nationally last year to $555 billion, and the company predicts another 7 percent decline this year.
Respondents indicated that any planned investments in infrastructure projects as part of a stimulus package could dramatically improve the employment outlook for the year. Some 85 percent of nonresidential construction companies would either cancel layoffs or add new employees if states embarked on stimulus-funded infrastructure projects.
