Construction Sector Unemployment Rises Again
November figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show almost 20 percent unemployment among American construction workers
There is more bad news for the U.S. construction industry in the latest job figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to preliminary BLS data, construction sector unemployment for the month of November reached 19.4 percent – up from 18.7 percent in October, and 17.1 percent in September. So even as economists have declared an end to the recession (based on modest gains this fall in the U.S. gross domestic product), nearly one in five of all American construction workers are facing a jobless holiday season.
This sobering figure further emphasizes the need for urgent federal action to stimulate rapid job creation in construction and related industries – including the HOME STAR incentive program that was formally endorsed last week by the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
HOME STAR is a proposed two-year program that would leverage federal incentives and private investment to create hundreds of thousands of residential energy efficiency jobs for unemployed construction workers over the next two years.
Read more about the Home Star program here:
www.efficiencyfirst.org/home-star
See the November construction employment figures here:
www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag23.htm
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The financial crisis has badly affected the construction sector.Unemployment in construction sector is in a cycle.If the existing projects are halted and not completed on time than there will be less new projects and if there will be less new project than the recruitment of the people will be less.Thus complete construction cycle is directly affecting the employment of construction sector which in return comes to unemployment.
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The Homestar program has promise. Retrofitting energy inefficient homes will create a new source of growth for the construction industry and create or save jobs. The problem is that this is a short term fix. Yes, American factories will produce the products used in the retrofits. OR will they? As long as all products used are certified made in the USA, this will be a short term help to manufacturing. The question is, can the retrofit industry be packaged and sold globally for a long term manufacturing growth opportunity for American business and workers? If the industry cannot be scaled, it will be a short term fix and we will still be looking for the next “gotta have it” global consumer product that will truly strengthen and grow our economy, like the PC did in the 80′s and internet products did in the 90′s.