Weak Business Conditions Persist

By region, firms located in the Northeast reported the sharpest downturn in firm billings for the second month in a row.
Courtesy of AIA

Business conditions remain weak in all regions of the country and for architecture firms of all specializations. Since these figures are computed as three-month moving averages of the index scores, the slight bump up in billings is not apparent.

Weakness persisted in the overall economy in August, highlighted by a net employment change of zero for the month. It’s only the second time that this has ever occurred, and the first month with no employment growth since September 2010.

While the Federal Reserve’s most recent edition of the Beige Book indicated increased demand for multifamily projects in the New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland districts, home prices remained flat overall. Commercial construction remained weak in Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago and Kansas City, although the Chicago district is tempered slightly by growth in the industrial construction sector.

- Courtesy of AIA, Jennifer Riskus