The Houzz Renovation Barometer for the first quarter of 2016 was recently released, analyzing confidence among home renovation pros. The findings show strong quarter-over-quarter confidence across all industry groups, with similar results to the 2015 report, with the exception of architects and outdoor specialty firms, which reported less confidence. All industry groups reported “a rosy outlook for the second quarter of the year,” noted Houzz.

Other findings in the report include:

Labor continues to pose a top challenge for renovation-focused firms, with four in five general contractors, remodelers and design-build firms reporting moderate-to-severe shortages across a wide range of skilled trades, consistent with 2015 Barometer findings.

Three in four firms reporting shortages are hiring employees or subcontractors in those in-demand trades. In order to attract young workers, nearly one-third of remodeling-focused companies are offering on-the-job training. Another 16 percent are leveraging social media to help promote job opportunities to new talent.

Some firms are taking more extensive measures, such as partnering with local colleges to offer training programs, attending recruiting events and/or giving talks at local colleges and/or high schools to reach potential future hires.

“While Barometer readings continue to reflect year-over-year market improvements across industry groups, these gains are somewhat less widespread than those we saw in the same period of 2015,” said Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz. “Consistent with our projections in the Houzz State of the Industry report at the beginning of the year, we are seeing early evidence that 2016 will be a year of more moderate yet steady growth for residential renovation and design businesses.”

Discover the full report.