US Professional and Technical Services Sector
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 976,264 professional and technical services establishments in the US provide specialized expertise to clients and typically operate as third-party contractors. As opposed to producing a physical product, professional service providers are primarily knowledge-based businesses that offer advice and make available the skills of their employees.
Dependence on Government Projects
The US government is one of the largest consumers of professional services, and federal, state, and local government organizations are important customers for several industries in the sector.
Dependence on Expensive, Skilled Labor
The professional and technical services industry is dependent on highly skilled labor and jobs that command high wages.
Industry size & Structure
The professional and technical services sector is comprised of 976,264 establishments that employ 10.8 million workers and generate $2.8 trillion in annual revenue, according to government sources.
- The professional services sector represents 6.7% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 7% of the country's workers.
- The sector is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing 11% of revenue.
- In addition to employer establishments, the professional services sector has 3.8 million owner-operated establishments with no employees. Subsectors with the highest numbers of nonemployer establishments are management, scientific, and technical consulting services (25%); accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services (10%); and computer systems design and related services (9%). The owners of nonemployer establishments typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
- The professional and technical services sector shed about 237,000 establishments in 2021, which equals about 14.7% of existing establishments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the sector added about 353,000 new establishments, which is equivalent to 22% of existing establishments. As a result, the sector had a growth rate of 7.2%.
- The professional and technical services sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 10.5% overall in 2023-2033, which is much higher than the national average of 4% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Industry Forecast
US Professional and Technical Services Sector Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 30, 2025 - AI Fraud Targets the Financial Industry
- Losses in the financial services industry could top $40 billion by 2027, mostly due to GenAI scams, according to Delotte’s Center for Financial Services. It is a substantial increase from the $12.3 billion the industry lost from fraud in 2023. The Financial Regulatory Authority reports that scammers have increasingly used AI to target financial institutions. Everything from creating phony documents to open brokerage accounts or steal an existing account to deepfake audio and video of trusted investment advisors and imposter websites asking for money. The FBI has warned the industry of the risks, and so far many financial institutions have been cautious with how they incorporate the technology, limiting GenAI to eliminating more mundane tasks such as research and data analysis.
- Return-to-office mandates continue to increase as employers increasingly sour on employees working from home. A KPMG survey from 2024 found that among 400 US CEOs, about 80% thought employees would be back in the office full time by the end of 2027. Big employers that have recently mandated a return to full time in-office work include Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, WPP, and AT&T. Employees, though, after finding more work-life balance during and after the pandemic, still favor remote or hybrid work in some form. The issue has become a heated push and pull between employers who want more in-person collaboration, and employees who have grown accustomed to the flexibility remote work provides. Per LinkedIn, 1 in 10 workers want to change jobs over the issue. Industries where remote/hybrid job listings increased last year included non-profits, insurance, finance, and technology, according to ZipRecruiter.
- Nearly all (97%) business leaders whose organizations are investing in AI report that their AI initiatives have generated positive return on investment (ROI), according to the most recent AI Pulse Survey by Ernst & Young. Just over a third of business leaders whose firms are already investing in AI said they expect AI investments of $10 million or more in 2025. All major metrics of AI-enabled ROI improvements saw gains since the last AI Pulse Survey six months earlier, including operational efficiencies (84% of respondents, up from 77%), employee productivity (83%, up from 76%), technology updates (82%, up from 74%), cybersecurity (81%, up from 74%), competitive advantages (80%, up from 73%), and product innovation (78%, up from 71%). Despite the ROI gains, senior business leaders are wary of AI’s risks; 61% of leaders whose firms have invested in AI reported growing interest in responsible AI practices, up from 53% six months earlier.
- Demand for building design services dipped slightly in November from the prior month, but there are signs that the architectural services market is gradually improving, according to a December report by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The AIA’s Architecture Billing Index (ABI) fell to 49.6 in November from October’s reading of 50.3. Any reading of 50 or more indicates growth in architectural billings. The score for new project inquiries was 54.1% in November, unchanged from the October reading, and the index for the value of new design contracts increased from 45.3 to 48.3. The steady rise of new project inquiries is a positive signal of future business opportunities. However, architecture firms are unlikely to see a significant uptick in design activity soon as new design contracts fell for the eighth consecutive month in November.
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