Jobber - Experts & Thought Leaders

Jobber, the globally renowned provider of home service software, released its latest Home Service Economic Report: Q3 2025. The edition combines Jobber’s proprietary platform data aggregated from more than 300,000 residential cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, and more, with external economic indicators to provide comprehensive insight into the trends shaping one of the fastest-growing and most essential parts of the small business economy, Home Service. Steady growth into Q4 After a slow summer start, the Home Service category regained momentum in September as inflation stabilized at 3.0% and the Federal Reserve’s late-quarter rate cut signaled a gradual easing of financial conditions. Homeowners remained budget-conscious, but recurring and maintenance work continued to sustain revenue across key trades, setting the stage for steady growth into Q4. Resilience of the Home Service “Even in an economy that’s finding its footing, the resilience of the Home Service sector continues to stand out,” said Sam Pillar, CEO and Co-Founder of Jobber. He adds, “Pros in this space are adapting faster than ever — whether it’s offering digital payments, bundling services, or maintaining strong customer relationships. These are the kinds of disciplined, modern business practices that will carry them through whatever the broader economy does next.” Key Insights from the Report Economic environment stabilizing: While consumer confidence remains soft, homeowners are prioritizing high-value, must-do projects over large-scale upgrades. Housing shows early signs of life: Existing-home sales rose 1.5%, and new-home sales jumped 21% in August, signaling a modest housing rebound. Recurring and maintenance work lead growth: After a slower August, job counts bounced back in September, driven by maintenance and pre-winter prep jobs. Digital payments milestone: For the first time, online payments have surpassed 50% of all Jobber-processed transactions, a 7% year-over-year increase. This reflects accelerating modernization across home services and positions Jobber ahead of the broader U.S. digital payments market, which grew 4% year-over-year. Segment Highlights: Green, Cleaning, Contracting, and Construction Q3 2025 followed familiar seasonal trends across the four main Home Service segments. Strong momentum from spring carried into July, followed by a brief slowdown in August, and renewed activity in September as homeowners completed outdoor projects and turned their attention to fall preparation. A closer look at the data reveals: Green: Lawn care, landscaping, and other related outdoor services saw new work rise 4% year-over-year, and median revenue climbed 11%, driven by bundled outdoor services and repeat clients preparing for fall. Cleaning: Residential and commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning, junk removal, and similar service businesses saw steady recurring work offsetting a slight 1% dip in new bookings, while median revenue rose 7% as operators expanded wallet share. Contracting: Arborists, electricians, handymen, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and other non-construction trades relied on urgent repairs and replacements to maintain a median revenue increase of 5% year-over-year during the summer, followed by a shift toward smaller maintenance jobs in September. Construction: Residential and commercial building and remodeling businesses saw signs of recovery emerge, with new work up ~2%, invoice size up 5%, and median revenue up 10%, supported by phased starts and mid-sized projects. Modern customer expectations “Digital adoption and operational discipline continue to set home service businesses apart,” said Abheek Dhawan, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics at Jobber, adding “Crossing the 50% threshold for online payments is a major milestone and reflects how quickly this sector is evolving to meet modern customer expectations.”

Jobber, the major provider of home service software, released its latest Home Service Economic Report: Q2 2025. The edition combines Jobber's proprietary platform data aggregated from more than 300,000 residential cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, and more, with external economic indicators to provide comprehensive insight into the trends shaping one of the fastest-growing and most essential parts of the small business economy, Home Service. Home Service businesses Home Service businesses continue to demonstrate resilience, adapting through bundled offerings Despite a backdrop of elevated borrowing costs and cooling housing activity, Home Service businesses continue to demonstrate resilience, adapting through bundled offerings, value-driven services, and accelerated use of digital tools. "Home service pros continue to demonstrate their critical role in a complex economic environment," said Sam Pillar, CEO and Co-Founder of Jobber. He adds, "While sectors tied to big-ticket spending are under some pressure, these businesses are thriving by focusing on essential, high-frequency services and building long-term trust with customers. In the face of cautious consumer sentiment and a cooling housing market, they're leaning into recurring revenue, operational efficiency, and digital tools that drive both resilience and growth." Key insights Key Insights from the report: Homeowners remain cautious, but committed to maintenance and smaller projects. With high mortgage rates and limited affordability, many households are choosing to stay put and invest in preservation and incremental improvements rather than large-scale renovations. Recurring relationships are driving stability. Service pros with long-term customer relationships are better positioned to maintain revenue even as new work bookings fluctuate. Digital payments reach new highs. Nearly half (49%) of all transactions through Jobber were made digitally in Q2, showing homeowners increasingly expect seamless, mobile-friendly payment options.  Segment Highlights In Q2 2025, Home Service businesses saw mixed performance across segments, with a strong June helping offset slower results earlier in the quarter. Green and Cleaning businesses benefited from seasonal demand, recurring clients, and bundled service offerings, driving steady revenue growth despite softer new bookings. Contracting and Construction segments showed signs of stabilization, with urgent repairs and mid-sized projects fueling higher invoice values and early signs of recovery. A deeper breakdown is as follows: Green: Lawn care, landscaping, and other related outdoor services saw new work booked increase 2.5% year-over-year, with a strong June surge offsetting a slow spring. Median revenue grew 5.8% year-over-year, driven by bundled offerings and preventative care packages, which helped businesses capture seasonal demand. Cleaning: Residential and commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning, junk removal, and similar service businesses saw median revenue rise 8.1% year-over-year, fueled by recurring client relationships. New work scheduled declined 1.7% year-over-year, though June showed signs of recovery as price-sensitive homeowners returned to reliable, routine services. Contracting: Arborists, electricians, handymen, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and other non-construction trades experienced a 1.5% dip in new work scheduled year-over-year as non-essential upgrades were deferred. Urgent repairs drove higher-value jobs, boosting median revenue 5.2% year over year and average invoice size up 6.8% year over year. Construction: Residential and commercial building and remodeling businesses saw early signs of a rebound, with median revenue climbing 6.3% year-over-year. New work scheduled grew 1.3% year-over-year, aided by mid-sized projects re-entering the pipeline in June despite high financing costs. "Our Q2 data shows that the Home Service category is actively evolving to meet the moment," said Abheek Dhawan, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics at Jobber. He adds, "The rise in recurring work, urgent repair demand, and early signs of recovery in construction suggest a sector responding to uncertainty with smart, adaptive operations. Meanwhile, record-breaking digital payment usage reflects a growing preference for seamless, tech-enabled customer experiences."

Jobber, the pioneering provider of home service software, released its latest Home Service Economic Report: 2024 Review and 2025 Outlook.  The report features expert insights and proprietary data aggregated from more than 250,000 residential cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, and more, who run their businesses using Jobber. Home Service Businesses The report indicates that Home Service businesses are regaining momentum, a recovering housing market After successfully navigating a challenging 2024, the report indicates that Home Service businesses are regaining momentum, fueled by strengthening consumer spending, a recovering housing market, and accelerating digital adoption. "Our latest report highlights how businesses navigated shifting consumer demand, leveraged digital tools, and adapted their pricing strategies to stay competitive in 2024," said Sam Pillar, CEO & co-founder at Jobber. Demand for home services Pillar added: "Despite lingering inflation concerns and uncertainty around interest rates, our data shows that demand for home services is rebounding." "As the economy stabilizes and policy decisions unfold in 2025, Home Service entrepreneurs have a strong opportunity for growth and long-term success." Key Insights from the Report Consumer Demand Rebounding: While 2024 saw fewer jobs being scheduled, businesses maintained revenue by adjusting pricing and increasing job sizes. Late-year improvements suggest consumer confidence is returning, positioning 2025 as a year of renewed growth. Home Values Driving Renovations: Single-family home prices jumped 5.8% in Q4 of 2024, increasing homeowners' willingness to invest in upgrades, repairs, and remodeling projects. New Construction Growth: A late-year surge in housing starts signals rising demand for new builds, creating more opportunities for Home Service professionals. Digital Payment Popularity Soars: Nearly half of all transactions on a dollar basis were made digitally in 2024, and trends suggest that digital payments could surpass 50% in 2025. Segment Highlights: Green, Cleaning, and Construction The report highlights positive end-of-year trends across key Home Service segments—including Green, Cleaning, Contracting, and Construction. A deeper breakdown is as follows: Green: The Green segment includes lawn care, landscaping, and other related outdoor services. The Green sector saw volatility in 2024, with a spring downturn in scheduled work followed by a late-year rebound. Revenue mirrored this trend as businesses offset lower job volumes with higher-ticket services or price adjustments. Despite fluctuations, the sector ended strong. Cleaning: Cleaning services include residential and commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning, junk removal, and similar services. The cleaning sector saw a slowdown in scheduled work but improved in the second half of the year. Pricing adjustments helped drive revenue growth despite fluctuating demand. Contracting: The Contracting segment, which includes arborists, electricians, handymen, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and other non-construction trades, struggled with scheduling new work in early 2024 but rebounded later. Construction: The Construction segment includes residential and commercial building and remodeling. This sector saw early-year slowdowns, with surges in April and July before stabilizing. Despite revenue fluctuations, the segment is poised to improve with a recovering housing market. Increase in digital adoption "We have a positive but cautious outlook for 2025," says Abheek Dhawan, Senior VP, Strategy & Analytics at Jobber. "Home Service businesses are seeing more new work get scheduled, steady revenue growth, and a continued increase in digital adoption." "On the other hand, there is considerable political uncertainty at the moment, which could impact businesses when they're purchasing materials. On the whole, the Home Service category remains a critical driver of economic activity in America, and one that is relatively insulated from volatility."

Housing market dynamics, pressures on global supply chains, and the rising costs of materials and labor are a few of the trends that are impacting the HVAC industry. While COVID-19 restrictions may have been largely lifted throughout the U.S., many of these lingering trends can be traced back directly, or indirectly, to the pandemic. Jobber’s Home Service Economic Report: Record Growth Fuels Labor Shortage explores these trends and their true impact on home service businesses’ ability to get work done. Below are key takeaways for the Contracting segment, which includes HVAC businesses, based on Q3 performance and data from over 100,000 home service companies. Homeowner Spending Continues to Grow Let’s start with good news. Consumer spending continues to drive revenue growth in Home Service—including residential HVAC— which has outperformed all other categories, including Grocery Stores and General Merchandise Stores in Q3 2021. Long-term sustainable growth is expected through Q4 2021 and into 2022 due to several factors: Demand Maintains Momentum: The number of new homes being constructed and new building permits issued continues to outpace pre-pandemic levels, with no indication of slowing down. Additionally, remodeling activity remains very high and is expected to accelerate towards the end of the year. All these trends mean that demand for home services will remain very high. New Work Growth Stays Positive: New work scheduled continues to show positive year-over-year growth, although the supply chain and labor shortage challenges are certainly slowing things down. There is a lot of opportunity for the category as those challenges are overcome. Growing Invoice Sizes Across the Board: Due to increased input costs, the cost of services being delivered has increased, which means invoice sizes are increasing for all the main segments across Home Service, including Cleaning, Contracting, and Green. With October and November typically being some of the busiest months for HVAC companies, it’s safe to assume that the industry will finish the year with strong demand. Now, the ability to take advantage of this spike in demand is a different story. The inability to hire enough employees will prevent service providers from keeping up with demand Skilled Workers in High Demand While the labor shortage has impacted Home Service less than other categories, the need for skilled workers is impacting the rate at which HVAC technicians and other service businesses can book new work. The ratio of hires to job openings has decreased significantly, suggesting the current demand for talent is not being sufficiently met. This inability to hire enough employees will prevent service providers from keeping up with demand and taking on more work. Help Wanted, Inquire Within The Contracting segment showed positive growth in new work scheduled year-over-year in Q3 2021 but was impacted the most by labor shortages among Home Service segments. Our data shows that service providers that we're able to increase their headcount were able to schedule more work and increase their revenue at a much faster rate. This gap is creating opportunities for both new HVAC entrepreneurs and workers seeking to pursue HVAC careers. It’s also making the battle for talented technicians extremely competitive. Growing Pains The increased cost of materials, material scarcity, and labor shortages are starting to cap While the HVAC industry has shown resilience, there continue to be emerging and rapidly-changing economic trends that HVAC business owners and other home service providers have to navigate. While new work scheduled saw positive growth, this growth was slower year-over-year. The increased cost of materials, material scarcity, and labor shortages are starting to cap the amount of jobs service providers can commit to. Demand Outpacing Supply Due to steel mill products seeing a 122% growth over January 2020 prices, the prices of HVAC and commercial refrigeration equipment have increased. Gas and diesel prices reached peak levels last quarter as well, contributing to higher operating costs across the board for HVAC businesses. Regardless of the obstacles that stand in their way, home service businesses, including those in the HVAC industry, continue to persevere and outperform nearly every other major category. This speaks to the incredible resiliency of Home Services and the essential nature of these companies. One key takeaway from Jobber’s report is that the best time to open a home service business or pursue a career in the trades is now.

The entire economy has been severely impacted by COVID-19, with small businesses being hit the worst. These businesses make up 47% of the private labor force and contribute 44% to GDP in the United States. Thankfully, not all small businesses are the same. Jobber’s Home Service Economic Report: Summer Edition analyzes the performance of the Home Service category throughout 2020, and shows a positive path towards recovery. It shows that the Contracting segment, which includes HVAC businesses, had its first full quarter of positive year-over-year growth since the start of the pandemic. As we look ahead to the future, it’s important to reflect on the past year and understand how residential HVAC, and the Home Service category as a whole, has fared through this pandemic and the economic turbulence that it has caused. Jobber’s report highlights some trends and key findings that can help guide companies through the end of the year and into 2021. The Residential HVAC Industry Falls within a Strong Home Service Category Wrapping up the third quarter, it’s clear that the Home Service category—including residential HVAC—continued to recover as the economy opened up and consumer demand rebounded. With the exception of Grocery Stores and General Merchandise Stores, Home Service was the most stable category through the peak of the pandemic. It also recovered very well through June and into Q3, showing 10% year-over-year growth in September, compared to other categories such as Clothing Stores and Restaurants, which registered declines of 12% and 14% respectively. New Work Scheduled Finds Pre-Pandemic Success New work being scheduled is an early inductor of the health of Home Service businesses, and a proxy for consumer demand. When the pandemic first hit, the Contracting segment, which consists of industries such as Construction, Plumbing, and HVAC, saw a sharp decline in new work scheduled in March and April. Residential HVAC continued to recover as the economy opened upAt its lowest point, Contracting saw new work decline by 23% year-over-year as states across the country began implementing stay-at-home directives and consumer spending tightened. This impacted revenues in April and May, where growth declined 15% year-over-year, roughly 25% below expectations. Despite this dip during the initial peak of the pandemic, new work scheduled for the Contracting segment started to show signs of recovery from May onwards, hitting a record high for the year in June with 15% growth year-over-year, and consistent positive growth since then. As a result, the third quarter revenues for this segment have also shown positive results. Although the growth was moderate earlier in the quarter, the Contracting segment finished strong with 12% year-over-year revenue growth in September, matching pre-pandemic levels. Employment Growth Sees Upward Trajectory In April, the U.S. unemployment rate shot up to a record high 14.7% largely due to COVID-19 layoffs, but improved to 10.2% in July as the economy began to reopen, and further to 7.9% by September. For Home Service specifically, the category began 2020 with positive employment growth in Q1 that outpaced the employment growth in Total Nonfarm. However, stay-at-home orders in April caused employment growth year-over-year in Home Service to drop drastically by 12.9%, although this was still a bit better than the 13.4% drop for Total Nonfarm employment. Since this drop, Home Service has seen rapid recovery, with September employment only showing a decline of 3.9% year-over-year while Total Nonfarm shows a decline of 6.4%. Digital Payments on the Rise Despite Historic Resistance The Contracting segment has historically been a bit slower to adopt digital payments as these businesses often have large invoice sizes, and don’t want to collect payment using methods that can deteriorate their margins. However, according to market reports, the adoption of digital payments has accelerated significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The adoption of digital payments has accelerated significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemicSpecifically, the estimated percentage of transaction values done digitally in 2025 is now expected to be 67% rather than the previous estimate of 57%. In our data, we saw a significant increase from January to May, from 32% to 37%, in the share of payments being collected through digital methods, compared to other methods such as cash or check. While each business has its own unique dynamics related to e-payment usage, it will be interesting to monitor this trend heading into the new year, as social distancing continues, and more companies commit to improving their technology usage. Although there has been a positive economic turnaround for all categories towards the end of Q2 and through Q3, it’s difficult to predict where we are going with the recent rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the country. While consumer spending and employment have recovered from the massive declines they saw in early Q2, they seem to be stagnating a bit below their pre-COVID growth levels, suggesting that both consumers and businesses are remaining cautious. One thing is clear though, Home Service as a category is incredibly resilient as most businesses managed to survive through unprecedented economic hardship, while finding new and better ways to service their customers.

A global pandemic is a scenario that few big corporations have plans for, let alone small businesses. The emergence of COVID-19 has affected nearly every industry worldwide. All businesses have been forced to pivot, adapt, and at times, completely reinvent their operations to survive. Looking at data from tens of thousands of Home Service professionals, Jobber’s Home Service Economic Report: Spring Edition sheds light into how segments such as Contracting, which includes the HVAC industry, have proven resilient in the face of hardship. Reflecting on trends observed over the past six months, the data reveals that Contracting and the Home Service category as a whole are on a strong path to recovery, and rebounding to pre-pandemic growth levels. To understand where we are heading, let’s explore some key findings in more detail to help HVAC businesses make better informed decisions. Marginal Economic Dip Amid Peak COVID-19 Months With very few exceptions, almost every Home Service industry felt the economic impact of COVID-19; some more severely than others.Data reveals that the Home Service category was far less impacted by the pandemic compared to other categories April was the hardest hit month according to nearly all indicators across all categories. Timed with widespread stay-at-home orders and a significant drop in consumer demand, median revenue for Home Service businesses decreased by 15% year-over-year. Despite these challenges, data reveals that the Home Service category was far less impacted by the pandemic compared to other categories such as Clothing Stores, which saw a year-over-year revenue decline of 87%, and Restaurants, which saw a revenue decline of 53%. While the Contracting segment, which includes industries such as construction, electrical, and plumbing, in addition to HVAC, did see a 15% decline in April revenue; it remained relatively stable compared to others, proving to be resilient to economic downturns even during a historic crisis. New Work Scheduled Reaches a High Point The stable and meaningful nature of Home Service work helped maintain and provide jobs to millions of Americans throughout this time, all while delivering comfort and safety to their communities. New work scheduled for Home Service businesses reached a record high in JuneWhile unemployment shot to a record high of 14.7% in April (largely due to the pandemic), the Home Service category was relatively less impacted, and recovered much quicker than others. Several industries within this category, including HVAC, were designated as essential throughout the country, allowing many of these businesses to continue operating even as others were forced to close. In June, new work scheduled for Home Service businesses reached a record high for the year with an increase of 15% year-over-year. The Contracting segment, which was seeing new work growth of around 2% year-over-year before the pandemic hit, actually hit a record high of 14% growth in June. As new work scheduled continues to look optimistic, Contracting enters Q3 with a positive start. Rebuilding Revenues to Pre-Pandemic Growth Prior to the pandemic, the Contracting segment was seeing industry-average revenue growth. However, the steep decline in new work being scheduled when the stay-at-home There has also been more disposable income available to many that have started working from homeorders came into effect impacted revenues and caused a decline of roughly 25% below expectations. This quickly changed as homeowners spent more time at home than ever, making them more inclined to take money set aside for travel and invest in home projects they’ve been putting off. There has also been more disposable income available to many that have started working from home, and are spending less money than usual due to lesser commuting to work and lesser dining out, if at all. In just two months, the Contracting segment saw a turnaround in revenue, from -15% year-of-year growth in April and May to 10% in June. With the upswing momentum of new work scheduled in this segment, Contacting is well-positioned to see continued revenue growth entering Q3. It’s impressive to see contracting businesses overall return to pre-COVID levels so quickly. The first half of 2020 has really shown the resilience and resourcefulness of small businesses in the Home Service category. Although many businesses have suffered tragic losses, others have survived this crisis quite well, and have started getting back to their pre-lockdown performance levels. Although we have not yet seen the full impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on small businesses, there is hope for HVAC entrepreneurs that industry growth will continue to increase during the third quarter and beyond.