Washington, D.C., October 26, 2010 – The slow march towards economic recovery continues for landscape architecture firms. In the latest American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Business Quarterly survey, more than half of responding landscape architecture firm leaders reported steady or increased billable hours and inquires for new work. These numbers represent the third quarter in a row of positive findings outpacing negative. 

According to the survey, two thirds (65.6 percent) of firm leaders reported steady or above billable hours in the third quarter of 2010. Similarly, seven in ten (69.9 percent) reported steady or higher inquires for new work in the same period. The findings – similar to the second quarter results – represent the fourth time in the previous five quarters where firms reported average or above levels of work.

The relative optimism has not transferred into new jobs, with only 14.6 percent planning to hire in the upcoming quarter – down from 17.3 percent last quarter but up from 11.8 percent this time last year. Like elsewhere in the economy, firm leaders appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach to hiring despite reporting an improved business climate.

“We continue to see incremental signs of improvement, like work from projects originally put on hold due to the recession,” said ASLA Executive Vice President and CEO Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA. “However, firms face significant hurdles due to lack of project financing and heavy competition for a still small new business pool.”

The survey also asked about why clients choose sustainable design techniques. The top reasons include meeting government requirements (50.4 percent), saving money on utility or maintenance costs (43.1 percent), adding marketing cache (38.7 percent) and reducing environmental harm (38.1 percent). These results are similar to the Q3 2009 survey.

Full survey results are available at:

http://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=29886

About the Survey

The ASLA Business Quarterly survey asks quarterly benchmarks on key statistics including billable hours, inquiries and hiring plans. The Q3 2010 national survey was fielded October 11 through 24, with 465 firm representatives responding.

About ASLA

Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 16,000 members in 48 professional chapters and 68 student chapters. The Society's mission is to lead, to educate and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning and artful design of our cultural and natural environments. Members of the Society use their “ASLA” suffix after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Learn more about landscape architecture online at www.asla.org.