January 9, 2009

ICBA Commentary: Building Permits and Labour Force

VANCOUVER - The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) offered the following commentary on today's Statistics Canada release of the building permits survey for November 2008 and labour force survey for December 2008.

"The economic downturn hit the construction sector hard in last tow months of 2009, but we are optimistic that the bottom of this decline is near," said Philip Hochstein, President of the ICBA.  “The tide has already begun to turn, as governments begin to ramp up spending on infrastructure and public projects, which will hopefully spur on building in commercial and residential areas.”

Despite significant drops in BC's construction employment for December, Hochstein pointed out that the overall employment rate for 2008 was positive. “We have experienced several years of unsustainable growth in the province's construction sector, and we now see that returning to more average levels,” he said.

Hochstein noted that developers, governments and homeowners are discovering that now is the time to build. “Businesses and homeowners are smart to keep building at this time as they will receive excellent value, with costs becoming more predictable and tradespeople more accessible," he said.

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