FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In 2007, the construction industry employed millions of people nationwide.

Three years later, the industry has been decimated by the recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one-quarter of construction jobs have disappeared since January 2007. Throw in the jobs lost in related fields such as real estate, architecture, mortgage lending, landscape design and appraisals, and there’s no doubt which employment sector is hurting the most.

Additional Photos

Former mortgage industry executive Jason Altneu, seen in South Florida on his boat last August, now has two jobs – charter boat captain and independent insurance agent – as many professionals look for new fields because their old career paths have disappeared. Michael Laughlin/Sun Sentinel

“It has been a long and deep recession, and construction has been hit disproportionately,” said Sean Snaith, economist for the University of Central Florida. “Don’t expect that it’s going to turn it around any time soon. There are people who were working in the housing boom who will never work in it again.”

Some workers in the once-thriving housing industry are moving on. Many who once sold homes or mortgages in the region’s housing boom now work in jobs involving home foreclosures. Others have transferred their skills to other industries or started businesses.

THE LAND SURVEYOR

David Rohal worked as a land surveyor for 35 years. At his last employer, “it got so bad I could only muster eight hours of work for a staff of two. They pleaded to be laid off,” he said.

Finally, in February, he lost his job. He called managers he knew with other companies and was told, “We’re barely holding onto our own.” Rohal had been through economic downturns before, but a job had always turned up after a few calls to contacts. Not this time.

Rohal, 59, is coming to grips with the fact that he may need to change occupations. Fortunately, he has many transferable skills, including the AutoCAD design program, title work and managerial experience, said Vernon Bailey, a career counselor for Workforce One.

After a visit to the Broward County, Fla., employment counseling center, Rohal left with five leads, just two in land surveying. “You have to be willing to accept change,” he said.

THE MORTGAGE EXECUTIVE

Jason Altneu, 36, was an account executive with three different mortgage lenders in South Florida. The last one, First NLC, closed its doors in 2007.

Altneu didn’t bother looking for another mortgage industry job. “I’m realistic,” he said.

He owned two boats at the time, so he got his captain’s license and started a charter boat business. “When I realized what a captain makes, I got my insurance license,” he said.

Altneu became an independent insurance agent, starting Altneu Financial, which provides group health and life insurance. “I’m not even close to replacing my salary, but my bills are met. Through the mortgage boom, I didn’t increase any of my debt, so I was able to survive,” he said.

While he’s making about one-third of what he once did in the mortgage industry, “I’m working four times as hard,” Altneu said

“What do you do? You’ve just got to let go,” Altneu said.

THE ARCHITECT

Elizabeth Sanchez, 47, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Miami in 1987. Since 1993, she has been in a partnership with a licensed architect in a Hollywood, Fla., firm, Arquis Design Group.

Sanchez worked on residential, retail, warehouse and commercial projects. But business slowed in recent years and she was unable to finish a four-unit duplex in Hollywood.

She got in touch with former classmates at the University of Miami about potential work, but soon found that “many architectural companies have closed or reduced their (number of) employees,” Sanchez said.

So now she is considering architecture jobs in other countries, possibly working for the government. Sanchez recently sought help from Workforce One in redoing her resume for architectural jobs with the Army, Navy and Homeland Security.

“I’m willing to move anywhere there’s work,” said Sanchez, a native of Nicaragua who has been a U.S. citizen since young adulthood. She immigrated with her parents when she was 15.

Workforce One counselor Bailey recruited a colleague at Veterans Affairs who is familiar with the federal government application, which can be complicated.

Bailey also suggested Sanchez get to work on an environmental credential increasingly required on construction projects.

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