ABSTRACT
Buildings are one of the most important economic sectors. The global world's annual output of construction is close to US$3000 billion and represents almost one tenth of the global economy (CICA, 2002). In parallel, buildings represent more than 50 per cent of the national capital investment, while the sector employs more than 111 million employees and accounts for almost 7 per cent of total employment, as well as 28 per cent of global industrial employment. As mentioned by CICA (2002), every job in the construction sector generates two new jobs in the global economy; thus, it can be said that the buildings sector is in a direct or indirect way is linked to almost 20 per cent of global employment.
