MORE SIGNS OF RECOVERY
From a report by the American Institute of Architects' chief economist, Kermit Baker:
Architecture firms reported even further improvements in business conditions in April. Overall, 29 percent of firms indicated that their billings had significantly increased, while 17 percent reported a comparable decline. Overall billings have increased every month this year, and in some cases the increase has been very dramatic.
As encouraging as the magnitude of the improvement has been its breadth. Firms in all regions of the country note a significant upturn in business conditions. Likewise, business conditions have improved for all types of firms, regardless of their area of specialization. Of particular note is that firms with an institutional focus reported the strongest improvement in billings in April. Many of these firms had reported softer conditions in recent months.
This solid upturn in business activity at architecture firms shows no signs of abating. Inquiries for new project work were also very strong in April and, again, very broadly based. Firms in all areas of specialization indicated very healthy increases in new inquiries, with residential firms reporting the sharpest gains.
The report includes graphs--and some interesting news on outsourcing.