Quarter to quarter: Compared to fourth quarter 2013, your first quarter 2014 billable hours were:

Quarter to quarter: Compared to fourth quarter 2013, your first quarter 2014 inquiries for new work were:

Year to year: Compared to the first quarter in 2013, your first quarter 2014 billable hours were:

Year to year: Compared to the first quarter in 2013, your first quarter 2014 inquiries for new work were:

According to the American Society of Landscape Architects' first quarter 2014 business survey, fielded April 10-30, 2014 with 209 primary firm contacts responding, 80.2 percent of landscape architect firm representatives report stable to significantly higher inquiries for work, representing an increase from 74.9 percent last quarter. In addition, 72.2 percent of the firms indicated stable to higher billable hours in the first quarter of 2013, compared to 75.7 percent last quarter.

Year to year, 83.4 percent claimed stable to significantly higher first-quarter inquiries from potential clients for new project work, slightly higher than the first quarter of 2013 (81.4 percent). Additionally, 76 percent indicated first-quarter billable hours remained about the same or were higher, about the same as the first quarter of 2013 (76.1 percent).

While there was a slight dip in billable hours from last quarter, hiring plans grew slightly this quarter. Of the firms with two or more employees, 49.4 percent said they plan to hire in the second quarter, slightly more than the previous quarter (48.5 percent). Of the firms with 10 to 49 employees, 42.9 percent expect to hire an entry-level landscape architect in the second quarter.