Brothers last month, the fearful imaginings of the media pundits peaked. BBC Radio 4 imagined another Wall Street Crash, focused on US and Asian finance markets.rnOf course, this 21st century financial turmoil is not going to result in anything resembling the Great Depression of the 1930s. Yet even if the economy does falter, the experience of 80 years ago suggests there could be an upside for those with the funds to commission the British construction industry.rnTake the story of the Empire State Building. On 23 October 1929, frantic selling began at the New York Stock Exchange. President Herbert Hoover offered reassurances on the "fundamentals" of the American economy, but the next day the stock market crashed. Ruination of manufacturing and unemployment threatened.rnConstruction activity in New York was down 50% in a year, with construction workers having half the chance of finding a job, on reducing rates. The architectural and engineering staff fared no better, and the 1931 lyrics of Yip Harburg allowed Bing Crosby to express the frustration of the workforce:
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机译：上个月的兄弟们，对媒体专家的恐惧感达到了顶峰。英国广播公司第四电台（BBC Radio 4）曾想像另一场针对美国和亚洲金融市场的华尔街崩溃。rn当然，这种21世纪的金融动荡不会导致任何类似于1930年代大萧条的情况。然而，即使经济确实步履蹒跚，但80年前的经验表明，那些拥有资金来委托英国建筑业的人可能还有上行空间。 1929年10月23日，在纽约证券交易所开始了疯狂的抛售。赫伯特·胡佛（Herbert Hoover）总统对美国经济的“基本面”表示放心，但第二天股市崩盘。制造业的破产和失业受到威胁。纽约的建筑业活动一年减少了50％，建筑工人找工作的机会减少了一半。建筑和工程人员的表现并没有更好，1931年的叶普·哈伯格（Yip Harburg）歌词使宾·克罗斯比（Bing Crosby）表达了对劳动力的沮丧：
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