The Island construction industry has fallen off sharply in recent months, most indicators show, with a growing number of carpenters and tradesmen out of work.

Although contractors are reluctant to speak publicly about the problem, by most accounts the construction trades on the Island, which form a key segment of the Vineyard economy, are seeing the immediate effects of a deepening national recession.

Lumberyards report business is down and there are many reports of carpenters who are looking for work — with no success.

New home construction costs on the Island could increase more than 10 per cent as a result of new state building codes requiring one and two-story buildings to withstand winds of 110 miles per hour beginning Jan. 1.

For some prospective home owners and builders, the changes have already blown away their plans.

Tisbury building inspector Kenneth Barwick said he already has heard from home builders on a budget.

At the Lightkeepers Inn on Simpson’s Lane in Edgartown, it was a long summer for light-sleeping inn-seekers.

Construction across the lane at the site of the former Shiretown Inn has provided its share of metaphorical and actual headaches to Heidi Raihofer and her guests at the Lightkeepers Inn over the past several months, and the time has come, she says, for a rational noise ordinance in Edgartown to address the matter.