Stick a fork in it, it's done. The big bull market for construction recruitment, which began to waver in mid-2001, fell apart in the economic uncertainties after Sept. 11. In past years, experienced contracting professionals could virtually name their price. Now, they are finding that contractors have pulled in their horns and are becoming increasingly selective in hiring.
Most people in the personnel field see 9/11 as the turning point, but not the cause, of the pull-back in hiring. "We started to see a slight fall-off in recruitment in October 2000," says Linda Payson, search consultant for Daley & Associates, a Providence, R.I.-based recruitment and search firm. "We saw some peaks and valleys in 2001 until 9/11, when owners really put the brakes on projects," she says.