CONSTRUCTION SLIDE NEAR BOTTOM

The decline in the construction market is bottoming out, but recovery is still a few months away, according to Dodge Sweet's 1991 Construction Outlook. Construction contracting in 1991 will total $232 billion, down 4 percent from 1990, according to the forecast by the Construction Information Group of McGraw Hill.

The analysts predict drops of 3 percent in the Northeast, 6 percent in the South Atlantic, and 8 percent in the West. The South Central region is expected to improve 6 percent from the year before.