An estimated two-thirds of the nation's non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls, according to new employment and business forecast figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Arlington, VA. The layoffs are forecast to result in a 30-percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects.
"Unless the business climate changes significantly, and soon, the construction sector will continue to experience the kind of devastating job losses and crippling declines in business activity that will undermine efforts to end the recession," says Stephen Sandherr, CEO at AGC.
The forecast results found no relief in sight for construction companies that have already been among the hardest hit by the economic slowdown. Many companies experienced significant slowdowns beginning late last year, resulting in a 10-percent decline in the number of construction workers since 2006.
The forecast also found that planned investments in infrastructure projects as part of the national stimulus package are likely to dramatically improve the employment and business outlook for the year. For example, 85 percent of non-residential construction companies would either cancel layoffs or add new employees if states embarked on stimulus-funded infrastructure projects.
