Optimism Still Prevails For 2019: More than half of companies specializing in residential renovation and/or design cite a positive outlook for 2019 (58% to 80%), although the numbers are lower than a year ago (71% to 88%). Six of the seven industry groups expect average revenue growth to be in the upper single digits in the coming year (8.2% to 9.4%), with the exception of architects (5.1%).
Outlook on the Economy Neutral at Best: Companies maintain a positive outlook on the demand for professional services in 2019, but their view of the economy is mixed. In fact, Industry groups predict the national economy is much more likely to deteriorate (35% to 61%) than to improve (11% to 18%). Furthermore, the outlook on local economies has shifted to largely neutral (54% to 66%).
2018 Revenue Growth Lowest in Five Years: While average annual growth rates remained positive in 2018, five of the seven industry groups experienced a notable deceleration in the rate (5.6% to 8.2%) compared with 2017 (8.3% to 11.3%)2. Similarly, more companies felt that 2018 missed expectations compared with 2017. Surprisingly, hiring kept pace with recent years.
Rising Costs a Top Challenge: 2018 was marked by widespread discontent with rising business costs. Companies in the construction sector were consistently most affected, with three in four reporting increasing costs of doing business (76% to 81%). Furthermore, the share of construction companies citing products and materials as the top driver of costs rose a whopping 11 to 12 percentage points (to 72% to 78%) compared with 2017 (61% to 66%).
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Outlook on the Economy Neutral at Best: Companies maintain a positive outlook on the demand for professional services in 2019, but their view of the economy is mixed. In fact, Industry groups predict the national economy is much more likely to deteriorate (35% to 61%) than to improve (11% to 18%). Furthermore, the outlook on local economies has shifted to largely neutral (54% to 66%).
2018 Revenue Growth Lowest in Five Years: While average annual growth rates remained positive in 2018, five of the seven industry groups experienced a notable deceleration in the rate (5.6% to 8.2%) compared with 2017 (8.3% to 11.3%)2. Similarly, more companies felt that 2018 missed expectations compared with 2017. Surprisingly, hiring kept pace with recent years.
Rising Costs a Top Challenge: 2018 was marked by widespread discontent with rising business costs. Companies in the construction sector were consistently most affected, with three in four reporting increasing costs of doing business (76% to 81%). Furthermore, the share of construction companies citing products and materials as the top driver of costs rose a whopping 11 to 12 percentage points (to 72% to 78%) compared with 2017 (61% to 66%).
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