I work in Real Estate Development and I can tell you in no uncertain terms the CE firms in San Diego are hurting for work. I have been getting a lot of calls lately of guys looking for work. The good firms will whether this fine as they adjust their portfolio of work to include more recession proof work (ie Caltrans, public works, Senior Housing, etc.) but the smaller firms are hurting. You will also see the bigger firms lay off some people as well. It’s the nature of the business and we who work in it are all used to it.
Doesn’t surprise me that a guy working at a large firm doesn’t know what is going on. A lot of guys just do production day in and day out and don’t see the external forces going on. Especially if your friend does a lot of public works projects. That has a fairly constant stream of workflow recession or not.