During the time that I was staying at a shelter for the homeless in Naples (Florida), I had the opportunity to document the work of constructing a house with an estimated value of 20 million dollars. In a very select neighbourhood at the edge of the ocean (Gourdon Street), Cuban bricklayers, Mexican and Guatemalan painters... were still working for less than averages wages.
They work although the whole economy based on construction has been a disaster since 2007. After the years of expansion which saw the vigorous Florida economy feeding thousands of jobs between 2001 and 2005, Florida has become a prime example of all the problems facing the housing industry in the country and the enormous number of jobs that have disappeared (see the report ‘‘Life in and Around the Shelters’’ in the archive section) putting many people in severe distress.
At the same time I made contact with the foundation ‘‘Habitat for Humanity’’* which buys up houses seized by the banks in order to provide homes again for families.
«Nationwide in the United States, the housing industry provides 10.6% of all jobs, but this proportion rises to 20% in Florida,» according to Mr. Zandi, the chief economist at Economy.com.
http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca/economie/200901/06/01-672881-la-floride-est-au-coeur-des-ennuis-des-americains.php
*http://www.habitatcollier.org
During the time that I was staying at a shelter for the homeless in Naples (Florida), I had the opportunity to document the work of constructing a house with an estimated value of 20 million dollars. In a very select neighbourhood at the edge of the ocean (Gourdon Street), Cuban bricklayers, Mexican and Guatemalan painters... were still working for less than averages wages.
They work although the whole economy based on construction has been a disaster since 2007. After the years of expansion which saw the vigorous Florida economy feeding thousands of jobs between 2001 and 2005, Florida has become a prime example of all the problems facing the housing industry in the country and the enormous number of jobs that have disappeared (see the report ‘‘Life in and Around the Shelters’’ in the archive section) putting many people in severe distress.
At the same time I made contact with the foundation ‘‘Habitat for Humanity’’* which buys up houses seized by the banks in order to provide homes again for families.
«Nationwide in the United States, the housing industry provides 10.6% of all jobs, but this proportion rises to 20% in Florida,» according to Mr. Zandi, the chief economist at Economy.com.