2nd Quarter A/E Revenues Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Industry News / Industry Statistics

August 25, 2021

2nd Quarter A/E Revenues Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Total A/E revenues fully rebounded to pre-pandemic 2019 levels in the second quarter of 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Services Survey released August 19th. The “advance estimate” of quarterly revenues was $91.0 billion in Q2 2021, a 9.8% increase from the previous quarter (Q1 2021), and a 14.3% increase over the same quarter in 2020 (Q2 2020) – which was the first full quarter of the pandemic-caused recession. 

This growth is a complete recovery from the decline A/E firms experienced in 2020. A/E revenues were flat for most of last year, after declining about 11% during the recession and stagnating in 2020. The rebound began at a moderate pace of about 4% during Q1 of this year before growing significantly in the second quarter.

Economic analysts credit the rebound the A/E industry and other sectors are experiencing to vaccine access, ongoing federal fiscal stimulus, and increased consumer spending. However, many analysts are increasingly cautious in their optimism, due to the Delta variant of COVID-19 which has increased infection rates across much of the United States.

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