Rise in Billable Hours, but a Slight Dip in Inquiries for New Work and
Hiring from Last Quarter

Landscape architecture firms reported "solid if slightly subdued business conditions" in the American Society of Landscape Architects' 2014 third-quarter business survey. The national survey, fielded October 15-31, with 188 primary firm contacts responding, reports a rise in billable hours, but a slight dip in inquiries for new work. Hiring plans also declined from the second quarter.

Fully 84.17 percent reported stable to significantly higher billable hours, an increase from 82.42 percent last quarter. Some 83.89 percent noted stable to significantly higher inquiries for new work, a slight decrease from 84.7 percent
last quarter.

Year-to-year, 86.10 percent indicated stable to significantly higher third-quarter inquiries for new work, higher than the 2013 third quarter (85.17 percent); 82.38 percent said third-quarter billable hours were about the same or higher, a jump from the third quarter of 2013 (81.32 percent).

Of firms with two or more employees, 48.06 percent said they planned to hire in the fourth quarter of 2014, a dip from the previous quarter (51.75 percent). Some 40.91 percent of firms with 10-49 employees will be hiring a landscape architect, either experienced or entry level, in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The survey asked about employee benefits, including family leave and flexible schedules: 61.24 percent of firms with two or more employees indicated they offer paid leave for significant family events; 26.36 percent said they provide unpaid family leave; 6.98 percent did not provide any leave.

The most common types of family leave provided by firms with two or more employees were maternity leave (55.56 percent), paternity leave (38.89 percent), child illness (38.10 percent) and eldercare (20.63 percent); 30.53 percent of firms with two or more employees offer dependent care flexible spending accounts that allow parents to use pretax dollars to pay for childcare; 59.54 percent do not.

Firms with two or more employees said they offer professional development and mentoring opportunities (93.08 percent), tuition reimbursements (49.61 percent) and flexible schedules and/or telecommuting (83.08 percent).