The Los Angeles Times reports that California's constructionworkers top the list of chronically uninsured employees. The datawas collected from the California Health Interview Survey (2005) byUCLA's Center for Health Policy Research.

The report, analyzed when the construction industry was in fullswing, found that 25 percent of construction workers lack healthinsurance for an entire year. The percentage of constructionworkers uninsured at any point in the year is 40 percent.

The report suggests that money coming into the industry, due tothe federal stimulus, may help alleviate unemployment but isunlikely to lead to a significant increase with Californians withhealth insurance.

Other professions with high rates of employees who lackedinsurance for a full year include the leisure and hospitalityindustry at 24 percent, workers in manufacturing, transportation,utilities and whole and retail trade at 15 percent.

For construction workers, self-employment and high turnoverremain barriers to insurance, the study said. The primary reasonconstruction workers said they did not have health insurance wasbecause they found it unaffordable.

Read more about the report from the Los Angeles times here.