Architecture Firms Cut Personnel by Almost a Third, Decline in Gross Revenue by 40 Percent

Architecture firms have had to cut a third of employees since 2008 as a result of receiving a 40-percent decline in revenue, according to a 2012 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Firm survey.

Although the nation rebounded from the recession in 2009, the firms' gross revenue has held a 40-percent decline for the past three years. In 2008, architecture firms pulled in $44 billion but declined to $26 billion by 2011, according to the report. Construction spending levels also took a hit in 2011 and fell below $800 billion in comparison to 2008 when spending levels were $1 trillion.

Between 2007 and 2011, more than 28 percent of positions at architecture firms had been cut, thus taking away the 18 percent increase in architecture positions in the 2003-2007, according to the survey