The American Institute of Architects released its latest economic report this morning, and the overall trajectory is welcome news to the architecture industry: rising to 55.6, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for March not only reached its second positive mark since the beginning of the pandemic one year ago (when it dropped to a historic low of 33.3 in March '20), but it also, according to the AIA, climbed to a score "not seen since pre-Great Recession" this month.
The design contract score continued the positive trend it began last month, hitting 55.7 in March. The new project inquiries score also improved from 61.2 in February to now 66.9.
The March report also registered all building sectors and regions posting positive scores for the first time in three years.
Meanwhile hiring in the architecture industry is continuing to rebound, but remains volatile, as seen in Archinect's industry-leading architecture job board.
"As business activity at architecture firms moves sharply toward recovery, it is very encouraging to simultaneously see such positive indicators of future project work increasing in the pipeline," said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. "The activity architecture firms are seeing is a positive bellwether not only for the construction outlook but also for the larger economy."
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