Ninety-two percent of general contractors say they are planning for or coping with declines in construction work this year, according to a survey of member firms of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) conducted near the end of 2008.

The slowdown in nonresidential construction projects and accompanying declines in construction-related jobs have prompted the association to ask when things will improve.

“Unless the business climate changes significantly and soon,” said Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s chief executive officer, “the construction sector will continue” to deteriorate. Estimating that two-thirds of the nation’s nonresidential construction companies plan to cut their payrolls this year, 2008 will “sound good by comparison,” he said.

“I’m afraid to look; it all looks very grim,” said Kenneth Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, referring to the association’s projections of private development of office, retail and industrial projects in 2009. Since the credit markets “slammed shut in September,” he added, developers are fearful of starting new projects until they are sure there will be buyers or tenants.

Simonson said that with nearly every state running a deficit in this fiscal year, which ends on June 30 for most states, AGC’s focus is to ensure that a “substantial amount” of a planned stimulus package is allocated to infrastructure “with as few strings attached as possible” in order to bring displaced workers back on the payroll.

“With a stimulus, construction companies can get more people to work and more money into the economy in a way that will immediately boost our economy,” Sandherr said in a release. “Without a stimulus, construction companies will cut jobs, slash spending and continue to be among the hardest-hit sectors within our economy.”

According to the survey, 85 percent of nonresidential construction companies would shelve plans to cut jobs or might even add new employees if states embark on stimulus-funded infrastructure projects.

Builders nationwide have been advocating that Congress include infrastructure investments in the stimulus package, which would likely improve the employment and business outlook for the year. Gov. Chet Culver called for a $700 million infrastructure improvement program for Iowa in his Condition of the State address yesterday.

The creation of “economic crisis zones,” which would provide tax exemptions and private activity bonding authority to finance construction projects in communities experiencing two consecutive months of double-digit unemployment, also is being urged.

“We are doing everything imaginable to ensure that our construction employment and business forecast does not become a reality,” Sandherr said.

The total number of residential and nonresidential construction jobs in Iowa decreased by only 5 percent from its peak in February 2006 to November 2008, Simonson said, compared with a 10 percent decline nationally.