After declining slightly in 2012, interior design employment is once again on the rise. According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of employed interior designers nationwide increased by 2,960 (7.3 percent) between May 2012 and May 2013, from 40,750 to 43,710.
This represents the largest jump in interior design employment since the start of the design boom in 2005, when more than 3,000 designers were added to the employment rolls — although the total number is still well below the 2008 peak of 53,290.
Within the A&D industry, employment in interior design firms experienced the greatest increase, with a gain of 930 designers. About 1 in 10 employed designers worked for an interior design firm. (Note: BLS figures do not include self-employed designers.) In the same period, the number of interior designers working in architecture and engineering firms grew by only 190.
Salaries improved slightly for interior designers in 2013, with an increase in the national annual median wage of $48,500, up about 2 percent from the year before. As in previous years, architecture and engineering firms as a group paid designers more, at an annual mean wage of $59,480 (i.e., half the designers earned more and half earned less).
The annual mean wage for designers in interior design firms was $54,940. Worth noting, designers working in industries other than those directly related to the built environment often earned more. At the top of the list was the federal government, which paid annual mean wage of $73,980.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Gains in employment varied throughout the country. States with the largest increase in numbers of employed designers included Texas (650), Florida and New York (each with 440), Pennsylvania (340) and Missouri (300). Missouri topped the list of states that added the greatest percentage of designers (37.9 percent), followed by Oregon (36.2), the District of Columbia (30.9) and Pennsylvania (30).
Some states lost ground in 2013. Those with biggest decline in the numbers of employed designers included California (340), South Carolina (90), Arkansas (80), Nevada (50) and New Mexico (40). Arkansas lost nearly half its employed designers (47 percent), followed by nearly a fourth in Massachusetts (23), and about a fifth in New Mexico (21), Nevada (19.2) and New Hampshire (18.8). Population shifts and several years of weak construction and renovation activity in these states may account for the disproportionate loss of design jobs.
The good news is that many states that had reported declines in employment in 2012 experienced increases in 2013, and half as many reported decreases in employment (13 states in 2013 vs. 25 in 2012). Some major markets that had experienced several years of decline, such as New York, Texas and Washington, reported notable increases in employment.
Still, the interior design industry has a ways to go to complete recovery. Many designers must continue to seek employment in ancillary industries.
The greatest contributor to jobs for designers in 2013 was the furniture industry, which (retail and wholesale combined) added 1,370 designers to the payroll — more than half (53.7 percent) of all new jobs. As a group, these positions pay considerably less in salary on average, but can offer other compensation, such as commissions and bonuses. Data was not available on the age or experience level of these designers.
Signs of continued growth in the built environment industry are positive so far this year. If the economy and overall employment continue to improve, we should be able to look forward to even stronger employment figures for designers for 2014.
