The creation of new construction jobs is crucial to improving prospects in the sector, it has been claimed.

According to the Portland Cement Association (PCA), foreclosures and tough lending criteria will constrain the sector until 2014, however, by creating more job opportunities, businesses can mitigate against the impact of these factors.

The body predicted that cement consumption will grow by 1.1 per cent this year, 0.5 per cent in 2012 and 7.4 per cent in 2014.

PCA chief economist Edward Sullivan said: "I don't see a rebound until 2014."

James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics, told the Associated Press that there has been a surge in the number of people looking to live in apartments as opposed to houses, which could see the number of construction jobs go up.

He stated that in the last 12 months, the number of permits granted to build such homes has surged by 63 per cent.

Posted by Fiona Summers