An economic study set to be released today found widespread illegal practices in New York City?s residential construction industry, estimating that one-fifth of the 82,000 workers who build housing in the city work off the books. The study by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonprofit organization financed in part by unions, noted that while the volume of residential construction in New York City more than doubled from 2000 to 2005, official employment among residential construction companies rose just 16 percent over that period. An increasing amount of the additional construction work is being done by off-the-book workers.
See "Off-the-Book Construction Jobs Soar in City, Study Shows", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, April 15, 2007