construction work wanted (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Beach: unemployment, new construction, school)

[SNAKESMYBMW]

hi all,
i am chris from UK and i will be coming to CA this year to look for work in the ridgecreast CA areas, does anyone know how the climate is in these areas for construction supervisor/manager?
thanks
RSPV

[EscapeCalifornia]

Construction is dead in California. Ridgecrest is in the middle of nowhere. How's your Spanish? Who's brilliant plan is this?

[Chava61]

Do you have a work permit/visa for the USA?

[Clarks]

You did not state your area of expertise.
The Spanish needed snarky comment is just that. Skilled workers are English speakers, and generally American citizens.

China Lake is a major Navy base at Ridgecrest.
There is an $18 million dollar ordinance storage construction project underway.

Kern County Supervisor Ray Watson predicts 4200 new construction and 300 permanent jobs in the Ridgecrest area for 2010 and beyond in energy.

There is over $6 million in new school construction scheduled. With 200 million in new construction proposed

[Curmudgeon]

Chris, notwithstanding all of the above post, it's still gonna be you v. 100,000 illegals vieing for the same job.

I don't think this is the time to pursue this line of work in CA.

[FresnoFacts]

Reed Construction Data forecasts the non-residential construction markets around the US with their "commercial construction expansion index". It shows areas with increasing/decreasing activity in retail, govt, hospital, museum/library, etc. type projects.

Reed is currently saying about California (and the US) in 2010. "San Francisco and Los Angeles are the only large metro areas among the twenty five cities with high expansion indexes....Smaller metro areas expected to see strong pickups in nonresidential construction activity in 2010 include Fresno, Syracuse, Daytona Beach, Topeka, Battle Creek, Blacksburg, VA, and Rochester, MN."
New Expansion Index Indicates Increased Commercial Construction Volume Expected in 2010 | Construction Industry News | Reed Construction Data

The Expansion Index is a 12 month moving index updated monthly for all US metro areas. The current map is at this link.
RSMeans - Construction Expansion Index Dashboard

The map shows most areas of California seeing some increase in commercial construction.


The Index currently forecasts these areas to be California's "Hot Spots" for commercial construction (in their words - "Construction volume in these locations is expanding dramatically in the next 12 months"):

• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana MSA (Expansion index of 6.59)
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA (Expansion index of 8.49)
• Fresno MSA (Expansion Index of 35 (not a typo that's thirty-five ))
• Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (EI of 7.02)
• Yuba City-Marysville MSA (EI of 11)

[ferretkona]

No matter what the experts are saying, construction is dead. I know hundreds of men in the trade and I receive dozens of calls a day looking for work.
They say we have a 12% unemployment in CA. In construction it is 80% and greater unemployment.

One thing we are all noticing is, looking at the new high rises going up. There are no cranes on top! The building is at a stand still with no financing.

In most positions in management it is carpenters rising up to manage. In many construction offices there may be one individual who has no real trade experience but they are only doing accounting.

[Clarks]

Chris, notwithstanding all of the above post, it's still gonna be you v. 100,000 illegals vieing for the same job.

The easiest way to answer that Chris, don't get papers, then you are another illegal but the fact is, the illegals are not the skilled workers nor the managers and supervisors.

There are a lot of people in California (and Missouri) that are convinced the sky is falling and it is falling on them.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Of course we all know a construction supervisor would never have any contact with a worker with a poor grasp of the English language. That's like saying county workers in the social services department or public defender's office would never need Spanish either.

[Clarks]

Apparently you have never been a manager. You want to work for me, you talk to me in my language, you can't handle that, there a hundred guys in line for the job.