Carpentry among industries which are not bounce after the recession (Washington Post)

To LAS VEGAS - every day in this city in the desert, the rise of carpenters in their pickup trucks and vans, resume stacked on the passenger seats, driving at Union Hall, and then circles construction one bound to the string to another, seeking work.

For one year or more, it was the same.

Nothing.

If they keep continuing work as carpenters, in fact, many of them can never find a job.

Beyond the recession, there has been an article of faith, as the economy revives, will return to work. But after the deep recession that began in December 2007, jobs in some industries are not returned.

This creates what economists call "structural unemployment," the result of a mismatch between the skills of the workforce and those required by employers. There is a concern because it causes longer periods of unemployment as workers are trying to transition from one business to another.

In some occupations is lighter than among the carpenters brand. In May 2006, approximately one million people have been used as carpenters, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the last year, this number decreased to less than 750 000. Predict economists, it is unlikely to climb these 1990s levels.

To obtain narrower on the phenomena, The insight Washington Post hunted 31 carpenters who had worked on one of the largest projects in Las Vegas, a city which has swept in the frenzy of speculative construction and now has one of the rates of unemployment highest in the country.

Today, at least 22 of 31 are unemployed, many of them for a year.

Five have lost their homes due to foreclosure or because they were unable to pay the rent. Three other live with their parents or their in-laws. Many people the rest still slipping financially, fear that they have their head in the same direction.

Workers keep seeking woodworking jobs because it's what they know. They have been learning, training and experience in the field. They were built with skyscrapers, bridges and power plants. And the Union wage is $ 37 now, so when additional flows, they can make good income.

Construction workers are used to ups and downs, but this time is different, and carpenters, often bluff and secular, speak in flagging voices were asked about their prospects.