Pro AV employment is on the rise, according to AVIXA’s Pro-AV Business Index. From October to November the AV Employment Index jumped four points to reach 61.7, one of the highest marks all year. The AV Sales Index also fared well, increasing just over a point from October and slightly higher than November 2018.
While the employment index hearkens good news, the lagging nature of the results are important to consider. Rather than indicating conditions at this moment, the data reflect positive trends over the past couple of months. However, an upward lift here corresponds with overall employment data and suggests continued good health in the pro AV sector, even if hiring may become more challenging.
“This month’s employment numbers intensify the business challenge of recruiting and retaining the skilled employees needed to complete quality AV work,” said Peter Hansen, economic analyst, AVIXA. “Companies can keep getting more creative about finding workers, such as partnering with local schools to hire directly. Businesses can also consider getting uncreative: raise salary expectations to recruit the best talent.”
[Digital Signage 2020 Outlook: Paving the World with Video]
More good employment news: The U.S. job market added 266,000 jobs in November, above the expected 180,000 additional jobs and up from the October mark of 156,000 jobs. One small caveat: about 50,000 General Motors workers were off in November because of a strike, so the month-to-month increase is less than it seems. Still, the economy adding jobs at a 200,000-per-month pace shows business remains good despite concerns over slowing GDP growth and the ever-present trade uncertainty.
On the sales front, more than one-fifth of index survey participants’ open-ended responses highlighted that seasonal trends are affecting their business, with an almost 50-50 split between reports of a holiday slowdown and a spending rush to use the last of the 2019 budget. With overall sales results up slightly from October and the prior year, the positives outweigh the negatives, if only very slightly.
The Pro-AV Business Index report is derived from a monthly survey of the AVIXA Insights Community, a research community of industry members that tracks business trends in commercial AV. The report actually comprises two diffusion indexes: the AV Sales Index (AVI-S) and the AV Employment Index (AVI-E). In each case, an index above 50 indicates an increase in sales or employment activity.
Visit avixa.org/AVindex to access the free monthly Pro-AV Business Index reports and learn more about the methodology. For more information about joining the AVIXA Insights Community, visit avixa.org/AVIP.
