by AF 0410 j3 — April 12, 2010—FMI, management consultants and investment bankers for the construction industry, releases the Construction Outlook: First Quarter 2010 Report.
According to the report, the outlook for construction for 2010 remains bleak. It predicts total construction in 2010 will be down after declining in 2009. Although residential construction is expected to begin recovering in 2010, nonresidential construction will continue to decline in 2010. Nonbuilding construction will continue to be a positive contributor, increasing another 4% in 2010.
The construction industry should prepare for another year of decline in nonresidential construction. Construction lost 64,000 more jobs in February. It was the 31st consecutive month of significant job losses, bringing the construction unemployment rate to 27.1 percent. An increase in residential construction in 2010 could begin to turn the employment situation, but it is unlikely that it would do much to offset the losses from nonresidential construction.
Heather Jones, a construction economist for FMIs Research Services Group, is responsible for design, management and performance of primary and secondary market research projects and related research activities, including economic analysis and modeling, construction market forecasting and database management. Her particular expertise is in the areas of market sizing and modeling, competitive analysis, sales and market performance evaluations, buying practices and trend analysis.
For more information, visit the FMI Web site.
