CMD First Source

Construction Workers Hit Hard By The Great Recession

Times have certainly changed. Commercial construction workers are experiencing very difficult times. In the past, if work dried up in a major city, such workers as carpenters or electricians could just pack and head over to another city like Las Vegas. Now there is no work there or anywhere else. The biggest dilemma is the continued lack of funding. More specifically, financing. Many workers in their 60’s claim they have never seen it this bad. This prolonged downturn continues to affect the entire industry. Just a few short years ago, three or four contractors would bid on a particular project. Now there might be 80 or 90. This is as good of an indication as there is on just how desperate things and people are. In the Southwest states, the construction site is now like what the factory floor is to the Midwestern areas. That is a place where blue-collar workers earn their living. In California, the industrial warehouse areas have very few busy job sites. And in many other states, things are not much better. Unemployment figures are estimated at 20-35% for construction workers. What’s worse, most experts predict more of the same in the near future. Hopefully, we are at the bottom and things won’t get worse. The Great Recession continues…for now.