Heading into the end of the year, architectural firms across the country are seeing a noted decline in new billings, according to a just-released survey.
The monthly Architectural Billings Index produced by the American Institute of Architects is showing a 44.3 score for the month of October, part of a longer trend line that first made itself apparent earlier last year.
With an overall index below 50 indicating a decline in firm billings, the latest index, put together in conjunction with the Herndon, Virginia-based Deltek software company, shows low numbers in every region of the country.
The figures, at 40.0, were lowest in reporting firms located in the West; with the Northeast coming in at 42.1.
The South and Midwest were marginally more resilient at 48.5 and 48.9 respectively.
The new numbers, said Kermit Baker, chief economist with the AIA, are indicative of not only a “decrease in billings at firms, but also a reduction in the number of clients exploring and committing to new projects, which could potentially impact future billings.”
Baker additionally noted that the soft conditions were evident not only in every region of the country, but also “across all major nonresidential building sectors.”
In fact, multifamily residential billings were the lowest among all of the sectors analyzed, at 40.1. Somewhat higher was the commercial/industrial sector at 43.7. The strongest numbers were seen in the institutional sector at 49.1.
The industry’s overall October 44.3 billings score is indicative of a larger trend that has been reported for much of the year. In October of 2022, the billings score stood at 44.7. Things had only marginally improved this spring when the index came in at 48.0.
In updated numbers released earlier this fall, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average median pay in the architecture industry is now at just under $83,000, with job growth pegged at 5% annually, “faster than the average for all occupations.”
By Garry Boulard