Economists assure us that the nation's broader economic recession is over. And maybe they're technically correct. But the same can hardly be said for the construction and design industry, which continues to suffer high unemployment and low growth.

In short, it hardly feels like the Mid-Atlantic region's construction economy has entered into a full recovery. Across the region, declining markets remain all too common, with nonresidential contracts down significantly in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, for example.

Mid-Atlantic Construction is presently gathering information for a regional forecast story about 2011. But we'd like to get your opinion as well. There are two ways to contribute. First, we've created a simple, one-click poll that asks how you foresee the coming year's construction activity.

Again, just click here to vote.

Also, we'd like to hear your comments. So please feel free to offer a comment at the bottom of this blog post to provide your prediction for the coming construction season. (We encourage you to sign your name and provide an email address, so that we could possibly use your quote in the story. But we understand if you do not provide that information.)

Either way, we'll publish the results in the near future. I look forward to hearing your comments!