The Masters Builders Federation says the downturn in the New Zealand economy has hit the industry hard and cost many jobs.
Chief executive Warwick Quinn says the number of building consents have dropped from 35,000 in 2007, to 12,000 last year.
He says as a result, 10,000 to 15,000 of the 130,000 people employed in building and construction have left the industry.
Mr Quinn says the challenge - once there's a greater demand for building and construction - will be finding sufficient skilled labour.
Even though the demand for work is slowly improving, he says builders are having to be very competitive in their pricing and there's a much greater number than normal tendering for jobs.
Mr Quinn says profit margins are very tight.
