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But that's still not enough to staff the growing number of projects the Fort Lauderdale company has taken on. It's hard to dig deep and build fast enough to keep up with the region's construction boom.

''We probably have at least half a dozen management-level positions that we're looking to fill with qualified individuals,'' said Executive Vice President Mike Geary. The work is out there for every reputable construction firm, he said.

Florida's job market is still going gangbusters, growing at a rate of 3.4 percent in November, according to state figures released Friday. But the construction industry is doing even better: In November, the state added 33,300 construction jobs compared to last year, an increase of 6.6 percent.

Florida is churning out the jobs so fast that its unemployment rate ranks the lowest among the 10 most populous states in the nation, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. The state added 255,100 jobs in November.

And those numbers may be revised upward to be even stronger, said economist Mark Vitner. If that's the case, 2005 will be ''the best year Florida has seen,'' he said. He sees no end in sight.

''2006 will be another very good year for Florida,'' he added.
In Miami-Dade County, the November jobless rate was still at a historic low of 4.2 percent, the same as the month before. In Broward County, the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, slightly higher than October. The South Florida region grew 2.5 percent, or by 59,300 jobs.

Throughout the state, most of the new work comes in the professional and business services industry, in positions as wide-ranging as janitor and senior executive.
But the growth in the construction industry is especially strong, outpacing the rest of the job market since August 2002. At its peak last summer, construction jobs grew at almost triple the rate of overall jobs. Now, it's almost double.

The explosion is leading to an acute shortage of workers, especially for skilled jobs like project managers, said Len Mills, executive vice president of the South Florida chapter of Associated General Contractors. Mills said his member companies are swamped with all the work going on.

''They can't get enough labor,'' he said.
That means workers are getting paid better, which in turn leads to rising costs for projects.
''We're seeing construction costs increase at unprecedented figures,'' Geary said. ``We've seen materials increase because of the demand. Now the labor force is also compounding the cost of construction.''

In fact, construction can pay more than the service industry jobs the region is creating in such large numbers. While construction laborers are paid on average about $12 an hour, project managers have starting salaries of $35,000 but can easily go into six figures.
And they no longer work just on the condos that are sprouting all over Miami. The boom has spread to public works projects -- everything from schools to firehouses -- to cater to a growing population.

Florida is adding close to 1,000 people a day, economist Vitner estimates.
Hurricane repair is also keeping the construction industry with its hands full, he said.
So what happens when -- if -- the real estate market slows down?
Possibly not all that much, for the labor market, at least immediately, Vitner says. There's enough backlog of hurricane repair to keep the construction industry's hands full for a while to come, he said.

''If we were to see a slowing of the housing industry, there are many people who would be relieved,'' he said. ``Maybe they could find someone to fix their roof.''
 

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