A new report has revealed that professions servicing the construction industry in Northern Ireland have been devastated by the economic recession.
The study says recovery will be slow and could lead to very significant levels of graduate unemployment in the next few years.
The study looked at architects, civil engineers and quantity surveyors. The Construction Industry Council says that in the past year almost half the firms in the sector had to lay off staff, while 54% of companies saw a decrease in their fee incomes.
The council predicts that recovery will be slow and says that, even in two years' time, employment will be well below the levels achieved in the boom years.
It anticipates high levels of graduate unemployment in the next few years as a result of the building slowdown and raises the fear that some students may abandon the industry altogether.
