The deepening slump in the private nonresidential markets and a slowdown in some key public markets is sending a growing number of construction workers to the unemployment line, but that is having little impact on wage hikes.
Through the first eight months of this year, the construction industry unemployment rate averaged 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is slightly more than the 9.5% average for the same period in 2002 and well above 2000s 6.7% average. This translates into an average of 860,000 construction workers looking for employment each month, 60% more than during the same period in 2000.