Bermuda has lost up to 3,000 jobs over the past two years with many more likely to follow in 2011, according to Bermuda Employers’ Council.The worst hit industry construction, which has an estimated 2,000 unemployed workers has seen new work orders drop to less than ten percent of their level before the recession, BEC research has shown.BEC director Martin Law bemoaned the absence of up-to-date unemployment figures from Government and called for an honest dialogue to find ways to stimulate the economy and maintain jobs.“As regards the economy and jobs, I do not believe the worst is over yet and I do not believe that Bermuda will return to the days of easy plenty that we enjoyed prior to 2008,” Mr Law told The Royal Gazette.“We are still seeing job losses and the prospect of more losses in 2011 is very real.“Nearly all sectors are affected but the most dramatic job losses have been in the construction sector, where new work orders in 2010 are less than ten percent of what than they were two years ago.“Good and up-to-date statistics on unemployment and job losses by sector would be helpful but do not currently exist. Our best estimates indicate that we have lost at least 2,000 jobs over the last two years and this figure could be as high as 3,000.”Former Construction Association of Bermuda president Alex DeCouto, president of Greymane Contracting, said: “My business is half the size in turnover and staff that it was in 2009 and I would bet that the other big firms would say the same thing.”Mr DeCouto said businesses need to know the exact scale of the national job scene so they can make decisions on their own future.“All I have is anecdotal evidence,” he said. “Statistics haven’t released jobs statistics since 2009, which is woeful, particularly when decisions are being made by businesses which really need this information as a basis.“Most of the firms employing almost half the people in 2009 were less than ten employees, so the question is really how are those businesses doing? Only Government can answer that.”Mr DeCouto has previously said only the start of work on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital redevelopment and Waterloo House in Hamilton would stave off an apocalyptic depression for the industry.In February last year, a Government survey showed more than 1,700 people were looking for work during 2009 with business leaders predicting the figure had already grown since that survey was done. The Chamber of Commerce has reported 3,500 work permits have been lost since 2007. Mr Law said: “Our main economic driver is international business and this sector is flat lined at best.“Tourism has declined to almost obscurity and without a significant uptick in North America’s economy and a rejuvenated local product, it is hard to see how this once key pillar of our economy can thrive. The rest of our businesses construction, retail, services are all driven by these two pillars, so declines seep down to all sectors, ultimately including Government.“We are facing a new economic reality the likes of which Bermuda has not experienced in living memory. There needs to be an acceptance by all sectors employers, workers, Government and all our people that we are in hard times and our economy may not return to earlier levels in the foreseeable future.“We need to engage in open and honest dialogue at a national level to find ways that will help the economy and maintain jobs. It will not be easy but it is possible, provided that all sectors work together for the common good.”United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan said Government needs to wake up to Bermuda’s toughest economic challenge since the Second World War.“This is already evident in serious job losses and shrinking pay cheques that are making life difficult for many families,” said Mr Swan. “It is also evident in declining performances in virtually all sectors of the economy. Most troubling is the declining state of our international business sector, the only engine left in the economy that can power Bermuda out of recession.“For a variety of reasons, it is shedding jobs through outsourcing, many of which have been held by Bermudians, and it is no longer generating job growth that has helped sustain and grow the economy.“People across Bermuda understand and feel the seriousness of our economic plight, yet the Government continues to treat the matter as a political threat rather than a national threat. “Indeed, in its Throne Speech, in the face of growing joblessness and no signs of a turnaround, it told Bermudians we were in a post-recession climate, with recovery at hand. This, to our minds, was deliberately misleading: a real failure of leadership.“Our fear is that the Government does not want to own up to the depth and extent of the problems that have developed on its watch; problems it made worse by spending too much of the public purse while failing to plan for tough times.“What the Government needs first and foremost is the courage to see and acknowledge what is happening to this once miraculous economy and to own up to its record which, let’s face it, has been a slow motion disaster. We need honesty and truth. If we start with that then we can at least begin to address current realities.”Mr Swan called for Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox to provide an accurate picture of the unemployment situation.“It is inexcusable that the Island is being deprived of critical economic information that can help us navigate these stormy waters,” he said. “Government, businesses and the people need good quality information so that Bermuda can make the best plans for the months ahead.”Bermuda Democratic Alliance finance spokesman Michael Fahy said: “We agree with the statement from the BEC. We have been saying this, the Chamber of Commerce has said the same, so has the UBP and several political commentators.“Tough decisions need to be made by all. Our view remains that the worst is yet to come but there are ways to stimulate the flagging economy many of which we have previously identified.”See separate article for Mr Fahy’s views on stimulating Bermuda’s economy.Have you lost a job? 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