Architects Navigate Another Month of Soft Billings

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Regional softness continues while institutional projects show modest growth

THE MOST RECENT REPORT: May 20, 2026

WASHINGTON – Architecture firm billings declined modestly in April as broader economic instability continued. The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index® (ABI) fell from 49.8 in March, when billings were essentially flat, to 48.3 in April, signaling that more firms reported declining billings than rising billings. National architecture firm billings have remained below the 50-point growth threshold since January 2023.

Business conditions remained soft across all regions in April, with no area reporting overall growth. Firms in the West were the least likely to see declining billings for the third straight month, while firms in the South reported further softening after early-year signs of improvement. By specialization, institutional and multifamily residential firms posted modest growth in April—an encouraging signal that new projects may be emerging. Meanwhile, billings continued to decline at commercial/industrial firms, which has remained one of the weakest sectors over the past six months.

Despite these factors, inquiries into new projects increased for the third consecutive month in April, and the value of new design contracts remained close to returning to growth.

“April’s economic picture was mixed as employers continued to add jobs, but inflation accelerated as higher energy prices tied to the conflict in Iran drove up costs,” said AIA Chief Economist, Richard Branch. “While a proposed gas tax holiday could offer some short-term relief, energy prices are unlikely to ease meaningfully until the conflict ends.”

Key ABI highlights for April include:

Regional averages: West (49.0); Midwest (48.0); South (47.7); Northeast (47.2)
Sector index breakdown: multifamily residential (51.5); institutional (51.1); commercial/industrial (48.9); mixed practice (firms that do not have at least half of their billings in any one other category) (42.5)
Project inquiries index: 57.7
Design contracts index: 48.0

Regional and sector categories are measured as three-month moving averages and may not align with the national score.

Inside Lighting strives to accurately report certain data on the day it is reported by the AIA, but updates to past data with new three-month rolling averages might not be made. For official and most current reports, refer to the AIA ABI numbers. All ABI data is sourced from the AIA.

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Interpreting the ABI:

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is a leading economic indicator of construction activity. It is produced by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and it reflects the approximate nine-to-twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.

The ABI is based on a monthly survey of architecture firms that asks respondents to rate the level of their billings (or the amount of new design contracts) as either "increase," "decrease," or "no change" from the previous month. The results are then compiled into an index, where a score above 50 indicates an increase in billings, and a score below 50 indicates a decrease in billings.

The ABI is widely used in the construction industry, as well as by economists and analysts, to track the health of the construction market and to forecast future building activity. It is considered a leading economic indicator because changes in architecture billings often precede changes in overall economic activity, such as employment and GDP.

The ABI provides a snapshot of the demand for design services as well as an indication of the near-term outlook for the construction industry.

The survey panel asks participating architectural firms whether billings increased, decreased or stayed the same in the month that just ended. According to the proportion of respondents choosing each option, a score is generated, which represents an index value for each month.

An index score of 50 indicates no change in firm billings versus the previous month.
A score above 50 indicates an increase in firm billings versus the previous month.
A score below 50 indicates an decrease in firm billings versus the previous month.
NOTE: Index numbers cited for the last three reported months are preliminary.
The regional and sector categories are calculated as a 3-month moving average, whereas the national index, design contracts and inquiries are monthly numbers.

Source: The American Institute of Architects (AIA)