New Quarterly Services Survey Released

The Census Bureau released its Quarterly Services Survey (QSS) for the 2nd quarter of 2025. This data includes revenue for the design and engineering services performed by architecture and engineering companies.

The second quarter of 2025 showed a slight rebound from the negative growth in the A/E services industry to start the year. Total revenue for the quarter was $123.4b, an increase of 0.2% compared to the first quarter, and up 4.9% year over year. This year-over-year growth was the lowest since the first quarter of 2021.

Given the decline in the total value of construction put in place this year, it is to be expected that growth rates in the industry will dampen. The broader economic volatility is present in the US GDP data, which was reported to be 3.3% for the 2nd quarter of 2025, following a contraction in the first quarter of 2025 of -0.5%.

Source: US Census, Quarterly Services Survey, September 2025 Release

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) shows firm employment slightly following this trend, as month-over-month employment declined -0.1% to 1.75 million in August 2025. This is the first month-over-month decline in industry employment since August 2024. Total industry employment still grew 2.7% year over year.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, September 2025