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Construction 'on course to lose half a million jobs'
04/11/10
Edited by Andy Jowett.The construction industry is on course to lose around half a million jobs as a consequence of the recent recession, according to one expert.
Brian Berry, director of external affairs at trade association the Federation of Master Builders, said 120,000 people have left the sector in the past year.
Since the start of the recession in 2008, the industry has lost 300,000 builders, plumbers and other workers, he added.
"Compare [that] to the last recession in the early 90s when half a million people left the construction industry - it looks like we are going to be on the road to hitting that target," he warned.
Furthermore, Mr. Berry claimed this gloomy outlook could deter some young people from becoming skilled tradesmen.
However, he added that in the long term, the "serious undersupply" of residential property and the government's planned Green Deal to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's 26 million homes could still provide "huge job opportunities" for the sector.
