The U.S. construction sector slashed 82,000 jobs in November, the biggest monthly loss in nearly two years, as financing for many commercial projects dried up because of the financial crisis and homebuilders further scaled back development amid a worsening housing slump.

The last time the sector shed more jobs in a single month was February of last year, when 103,000 jobs were cut, according to the Department of Labor.

In all, about 6.9 million people held construction jobs last month, the lowest level since May 2004. Construction employment peaked in September 2006 at around 7.7 million and has lost 780,000 jobs since.

Specialty trade contractors working in both residential and commercial projects, lost 50,000 jobs in November.

The residential side of the construction industry has been bleeding jobs well before the U.S. economy entered into a recession a year ago, but commercial construction had held up, even coming into 2008. That began to change after the financial crisis erupted in September.

"The main crux of the problem right now is the lack of financing and what's going on in credit markets, especially on the commercial side," said Marisa DiNatale, a senior economist with Moody's (nyse: MCO - news - people ) Economy.com. "We now know that a lot of commercial projects are being canceled or pushed back just because there's no financing available."

The decline in commercial construction jobs last month was the biggest loss since at least 1990, when the Bureau of Labor began keeping separate records for commercial and residential construction jobs, DiNatale said.

On the residential side, uncertainty over the economy, the loss of nearly 2 million jobs, and sliding home prices has scared off many would-be homebuyers, leaving a glut of unsold homes on the market.

In October, sales of new single-family homes tumbled 5.3 percent, while housing starts declined for the fourth month in a row, falling to the lowest level on government records going back to January 1959.

Major homebuilders, struggling through the third year of the worst housing slump in decades and hurting for cash, continue to scale back construction projects and leave undeveloped land untouched, which translates to fewer jobs.

While the number of new homes for sale in October fell to a seasonally adjusted 381,000, builders still feel there's too many new and preowned homes - particularly foreclosed homes - on the market and aren't likely to pick up the construction pace in the near future.

"Unless the credit market situation gets resolved soon, which there aren't any signs that's going to happen," DiNatale said, "then I think we're going to continue to see lost jobs in this sector."