CMD First Source

Construction Industry Has Highest Unemployment Rate

Construction equipment maker Terex Corp has cut its workforce from 24,000 to 16,000 and will see its revenues drop to $5 billion this year from $10 billion last year. No other industry in the U.S. has had to reduce its workforce as much as  the U.S. construction industry. The current unemployment rate in the construction industry is 18.7 percent.  The highway construction industry in particular is reeling and expects things to be worse in 2010 unless a highway funding reauthorization bill is passed and signed into law by Congress. Many construction companies have reported that they do not have enough work on their books for 2010 to prevent having to lay off non-seasonal employees. The $27 billion of federal stimulus money devoted to highway construction has helped many contractors and has saved some construction jobs, but it is feared that the stimulus will not be enough without a long-term spending program. State funding of highway construction is also depressed and could see another slump in 2010.