If it seemed like firms were frantically hiring designers last year, that's because they were. Employers added a whopping 6,040 interior designers to their rolls in the 12-month period from May 2014 to May 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The total number of employed interior designers (not including self-employed) is estimated to have reached 51,050 — the largest number since the start of the economic decline in 2008. That constitutes nearly a 12 percent annual jump, the highest in more than a decade, perhaps the highest ever.

The latest figures from the BLS show growth was highest among firms offering specialized interior design services.

Interior design firms added 2,190 design employees, bringing the total to 19,790, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. Architectural services firms hired an additional 350 designers (up 3.8%), for a total of 9,120. Together they comprised 57 percent of new hires.

Percentage-wise, the biggest increase was in the field of residential construction, which added 280 designers, up 11.4 percent, reaching 2,450. Unlike in recent years, the retail and wholesale furniture and furnishings industries also hired more designers (210 and 90, respectively), even though A&D firms were ramping up staff.

Holding steady as the top five states for interior design employment were:

  • California: 6,770, up 13.4 percent
  • Texas: 4,780, up 15.5 percent
  • Florida: 4,580; up 14.8 percent
  • New York: 3,490; up 0.9 percent
  • Illinois: 2,560; up 20.7 percent

Altogether, 14 states saw employment increases of 20 percent or more. States with the largest percentage increase in interior design employment included:

  • Utah: Up 48.1 percent
  • Nevada: Up 45.0 percent
  • Wisconsin: Up 40.4 percent
  • Arkansas: Up 40.0 percent
  • South Dakota: Up 35.7 percent

Only eight states experienced a decline in employed interior designers:

  • North Carolina: Down 12 percent
  • New Hampshire: Down 11.8 percent
  • Oregon: Down 11.8 percent
  • Washington: Down 7.5 percent
  • Minnesota: Down 3.9 percent
  • Mississippi: Down 3.8 percent
  • Pennsylvania: Down 3.4 percent

While hiring was robust, wages remained fairly flat. The mean annual wage across all industries rose only 1.18 percent, to $55,510, from the previous year. The median annual wage hardly budged, up 0.9 percent.

Within the A&D industries, the situation was somewhat better. Mean annual wage for interior designers in interior design firms rose by $1,990 or 3.5 percent, to $56,610. In architectural firms, mean annual wages went up $2,230, 3.6 percent, to $62,170.

Employment among interior designers is now at nearly the peak level it reached at the height of the housing boom, just prior to 2008. Although figures are not available for the first half of 2016, a scan of industry job boards indicates hiring is still on an upward trend.

Some individual states have seen declines, but across the country and in all regions of the country, employment has been on the rise. If that trend holds, we should expect to see improved wages in 2016 as well.