Vocational Rehabilitative Services NAICS 624310

Sep 8, 2025 - Commercial Bankruptcies Increase

• Total US commercial bankruptcy filings increased 26% year over year in July 2025, according to Epiq AACER, a provider of US bankruptcy filing data. Vocational rehabilitative services may be impacted if hiring by client firms decreases due to bankruptcy filings. Commercial chapter 11 filings increased 78% year over year in July. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 30% year over year. “Overall volumes are steadily climbing back toward pre-pandemic levels, and we anticipate this growth will continue throughout the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, driven by persistent economic pressures such as high interest rates, inflation, record household debt levels, rising delinquency rates, and geopolitical uncertainty,” said Michael Hunter, vice president of Epiq AACER.
• The US Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a proposed rule that would have ended the long-standing Section 14(c) program, which allows certain employers to pay individuals with disabilities below the federal minimum wage. The DOL cited ongoing concerns that eliminating the program could increase unemployment or reduce services for individuals with significant disabilities. Community Rehabilitation Programs, which hold the majority of 14(c) certificates, warned that closure or reduction in operations could follow if the rule were enacted. Critics of the rule also included lawmakers. Members of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce questioned whether the DOL had the legal authority to unilaterally end the program, emphasizing that any changes should come through Congressional action. More than a dozen states have ended subminimum wage practices through local legislation, but the DOL emphasized that federal statutory obligations under Section 14(c) remain intact unless changed by Congress.

• President Trump unveiled a budget plan with $163 billion in spending cuts to non-military programs. The vocational rehabilitative (VR) services industry is highly dependent on a mix of federal and state government funding. The agencies facing proposed reductions that would start on October 1 include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to USA Today. The May 2 Trump administration proposal comes after courts have blocked many of those cuts, however.
• Vocational rehabilitation service industry revenue increased 6.2% year over year and 6.8% quarter over quarter during Q4 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Vocational rehabilitative service sales are forecast to increase at a 3.99% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Community vocational rehabilitative service revenue typically comes from contracts with state vocational rehabilitation agencies, which authorize billable services. Fee-for-services contracts base payment on hourly, daily, half-day, or other unit-based rates. Vocational rehabilitative service industry employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first five months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.