Pet Care Services NAICS 812910

May 15, 2025 - Labor Costs Rise

• According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor costs were on the rise for pet care services in March 2025. Average wages at pet care services increased 8.6% in March 2025 year over year, reaching $21.76 an hour for nonsupervisory employees. Employment by pet care services grew 0.2% in March 2025 compared to a year ago. In the past decade, employment by pet care services increased 107%, much faster than the nearly 14% growth in overall private employment. Pet care businesses are monitoring pricing pressures resulting from the volatile tariff environment. Prices for pet services were 5.4% higher in April 2025 over the previous year and up 1.3% from the previous month, according to Consumer Price Index data.
• Pet services spending may take a hit as consumer sentiment, an indicator of discretionary spending, continues to fall in large part due to tariff uncertainty and an expectation of higher prices, according to two major indicators. The final index of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan dropped 8% in April 2025 from the previous month, according to CFO Dive. An index measuring consumers’ expectations for the future fell nearly a third since January, the steepest three-month percentage decline since the 1990 recession. According to survey director Joanne Hsu, “Consumers perceived risks to multiple aspects of the economy, in large part due to ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the potential for a resurgence of inflation looming ahead.” The Consumer Confidence Index declined by 7.9 points in April 2024, compared to the previous month. Consumer confidence levels have fallen for five consecutive months, reaching levels not seen since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, according to The Conference Board, which publishes the monthly index.

• The US pet care industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.73% between 2025 and 2029, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is slower than the overall economy‘s anticipated growth. Pet care services are part of the “other services” sector, which is driven by consumer spending, along with expenditure by businesses. Consumer sentiment is likely to improve in the forecast period, which bodes well for the various services industries, including pet care services. Factors that may limit consumer spending are higher tariffs on consumer goods, which may be painful for households. On a positive note, lower inflation supports a moderate increase of real disposable income by about 2% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026. Real income could suffer to an extent if average prices rise due to tariff implementation.
• Despite some high profile companies and government entities issuing Return to Office (RTO) mandates, a recent survey shows that only 12% of executives with hybrid or fully remote workers plan on issuing RTO policies in the upcoming year; RTO mandates and rising workplace occupancy are indicators of demand for pet care services. Companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Amazon, and AT&T, as well as the federal government, have recently announced RTO policies. According to the study from Stanford and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Survey of Business Uncertainty, the executives who do plan a RTO in 2025 do not expect to do a full return to onsite work but will instead require employees work only one to four days a week in office. Researchers say the expected shifts to onsite work in 2025 will only reduce the share of paid workdays that are work-from-home from 21.2% to 20.8%.