The Wall Street crisis is also affecting Polish immigrants working in New York and the surrounding areas. Many of them fear losing their jobs. The situation seems to be most grim in the construction field.

“The situation is horrible, tragic in fact. It hasn’t been this bad before. The number of available job offers is decreasing, and also fewer people are looking for employment,” said Roman from an employment agency on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, who has been running this business for 17 years. “I don’t remember times like these. At the moment I only have one job offer for a qualified carpenter and for high-rise workers, which is something everyone is afraid to do. The offers are only for two to three days a week.”

Delayed Checks

Increasingly, employers are shortening workdays or putting projects on hold. As well, they are paying their employees late or lowering the hourly rates. Some employers have to look for new workers to complete projects unfinished by the employees who left due to pay cuts.

Overall construction and renovating business owners have fewer projects and are laying-off instead of hiring.

“We were supposed to have job offers for electricians and painters, but so far noting has come up,” says the agency owner.

A bit dejectedly, Roman admits that the current situation has also forced him to lay off his own employee, “It is said but there just isn’t enough work,” he explains.

Massive layoffs

Staszek of Queens, who has been working for 15 years in the construction field, confirms that the situation is grim.

“Our company laid off over 20 people so far. The recession translates into the market of contract work. There is a very big difference between the situation now and a few years ago. Today people are simply afraid and are waiting to see what’s going to happen next,” he explains. “Right now we have nine- to 12-month-long contracts, but I know that other businesses are doing much worse.”

He also admits that his firm, which specializes in comprehensive finishing work of new luxury apartment buildings in Manhattan, does not use subcontractors as often as it used to.

“The majority of work we do ourselves just to have enough for the whole week,” he said.

Jacks-of-all-trades in demand

“My boss has shortened my work week to three days, but I still have a lot to do. What used to be my overtime work has now become my regular work,” said Janusz from Brooklyn, who has been working in the construction field for 11 years. “I always have something to do – tiling, painting or building walls. Nowadays hiring Jacks-of-all-trades is cheaper than hiring a whole company.”

Women are doing a little better than men. “We still have a lot of apartment or house-cleaning job offers, live-in home-care and other offers,” Jakub Uszko told Super Express. How long is the crisis going to last? In the current situation, the prognosis given by even most qualified specialists seems to be nothing more than just fortune telling. So the only thing left to do is hope for better times to come.