3rd Quarter Compared to 4th Quarter"?uBillable Hours
75.7 of respondents report stable to improved billable hours for 4Q 2013 compared to 3rd Quarter 2013 (80.6 %)

The ASLA 4th Quarter 2013 national survey was fielded January 16-31, 2014, with 287 primary firm contacts responding. "Business conditions remained stalled for the landscape architecture profession in the fourth quarter," reports ASLA, with billable hours and inquiries for new work dipped during the fourth quarter.

For firms with two or more employees, nearly half (48.5 percent) indicate plans to hire in the first quarter of 2014, and half of all firms with 50-99 employees expect to hire an experienced landscape architect in the first quarter of 2014.

4th Quarter Year-to-Year Comparison"?uBillable Hours
Year-to-year 4th Quarter, 81.5 % of respondents indicate billable hours remained about the same or were higher

Three quarters (75.7) of respondents reported stable to improved billable hours, a decline from the 3Q 2013 (80.6 percent). Another 74.9 percent reported stable to higher inquiries from potential clients for new work (3Q was 78 percent).

Year to year, 81.5 percent of respondents indicated fourth-quarter billable hours remained about the same or were higher. Additionally, 81.5 percent claimed steady or increased inquiries for new work compared to Q4 2012.