Willie Fort is a lucky man. Last month he came within a whisker of losing his construction job, but now he is off to Louisiana to work on a highway project that will employ him for at least two years. The 32-year-old father of four from Mississippi is among hundreds of construction workers who are either keeping their jobs or finding new employment as the US government's record $787 billion package to jump-start the economy is slowly disbursed.
"I was quite thrilled and very shocked," Fort said with a chuckle. "There was nothing lined up, so there was a big possibility that I could have been laid off." But his employer, Texas-based Austin Bridge and Road, bid for some of the stimulus-funded construction projects across the United States, saving Fort and several other employees from joining the country's growing ranks of unemployed.
"We were getting ready to lay off about two dozen people on a project in Mississippi and as a result of having picked up one of the stimulus projects in Louisiana, we offered them all jobs," said Jim Andoga, the company's president. "We have not hired new people, but what this project did is to save 20 to 30 other jobs. The project is going to go into high gear in about three months and we are going to need to hire about 20 people more."
Not only has Fort avoided becoming a casualty as the longest recession since the Great Depression rages on, he also got a promotion. "The job is going to require him to work a little further from home, but it's two years of steady employment. Last week we offered him a promotion to go there. He was the lead carpenter working on an hourly basis and we promoted him to foreman's position," said Andoga.
CONSTRUCTION HARDEST HIT The construction sector has been hardest hit by the housing-led recession, which is now in its 18th month. According to Labour Department data, about 1.74 million construction workers were unemployed at the end of April. The unemployment rate among construction workers slipped to 18.7 percent in April from 21.1 percent in March, but that's still more than double the national jobless rate of 8.9 percent.
Job losses in the sector eased to 110,000 after declining 135,000 in March. Contractors, companies and unions agree the massive stimulus package, criticised by some as mortgaging the country's future, was behind signs of improvement in the sector. The industry was allocated about $140 billion in federal dollars, mostly for work on highways and dams.
"Early reports indicate that the infrastructure piece of the stimulus is beginning to do exactly what was intended, to put construction workers back on the job," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America in Arlington, Virginia. Not only are hourly labourers getting a respite, but the improved economic tone is also benefiting white collar professionals, such as engineers and project managers.
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