The latest unemployment figures are out, and they don’t paint a pretty picture of the economy. For the first time in more than 25 years, the unemployment rate is above 10 percent, and the building services industry is proving that it is not recession proof.

The unemployment rate for October rose by 0.4 percentage points to 10.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 190,000 in the month, with the largest job losses in construction, manufacturing and retail trade.

For building services providers, the rate of unemployment increased twice as fast as the rate for all other jobs, by 0.8 percent, with the number of jobs decreasing from 1.761.4 million in September to 1.760.6 million in October. A year ago, there was 1.886.4 million people employed in this category.

The U.S. economy did expand in the third quarter, however, for the first time in more than a year, growing at an annual rate of 3.5 percent. And the productivity of U.S. workers surged over the same period, which makes sense, since less people are doing more work.

However, weakness in the labor market is expected to weigh on the recovery. The usual pattern in economic recoveries is that productivity rises first, then employment follows. And employment for building cleaners and janitors is expected to grow through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though it will surely have to revise its projections from 2006 that the number of jobs will increase by 14 percent, much higher than that for all other occupations.

Much of this job growth will come from cleaning residential properties, says the Department of Labor. Also, although there have been improvements in productivity in the way buildings are cleaned and maintained—using teams of cleaners, for example, and better cleaning supplies—cleaning still is very much a labor-intense job.

As many firms reduce costs by contracting out the cleaning and maintenance of buildings, businesses providing janitorial and cleaning services on a contract basis are expected to have the greatest number of new jobs in this field.

But with commercial real estate prices declining 40.6 percent from their peak in October 2007, and expected to drop to about 45 percent before they level off, weak demand for commercial space is pushing up vacancy rates, which will reduce income from existing contracts. This is also expected to result in a decline in demand for specialty services, which will lead to reduced revenues and demand for workers.

It’s not just American workers who face uncertainty, though. “Businesses are looking at every opportunity to reduce costs,” according to Rodney Barnes, national president of the Building Service Contractors’ Association of Australia. “The challenge for our industry is to present compelling arguments that will discourage customers from cutting corners that could jeopardize their reputation or expose them to litigation by risking the health or safety of their staff.”

He offered the following survival tips for building service managers:
• Treat retention of skilled employees as a priority;
• Good client communication is paramount;
• Direct your efforts around quality rather than quantity;
• Try to diversify. Promote add-on sales such as carpet and window cleaning. Make suggestions where you may be able to reduce costs;
• Look at business costs. Try to reduce costs by changing practices;
• Secure funding arrangements to help sustain and develop businesses;
• Manage debt ratio and don’t over commit. Examine core business operations, revenue projections and working capital levels in order to maintain a strong balance sheet, something that may be harder and harder to achieve.

Thanks and good luck.