Cleaning Industry: August Jobs & Revenue Still Down

While the cleaning industry has seen much improvement over the past 3 months, our August report indicates that complete recovery may take more time. The August numbers still show small decreases in number of jobs and total revenue nationwide. While the decreases are not near as large as earlier months, the numbers are not as good as June and July were.

Our data shows an 11% decrease in total number of jobs nationwide in the month of August (compared to August of 2019). Comparatively, March saw a 22% decrease, April saw a 46% decrease, May saw a 31% decrease, June saw a 7% decrease, and July saw a 6% decrease.

Our data also shows a 13% decrease in total revenue nationwide for the month of August (compared to August of 2019). April and May saw a 39% decrease and 28% decrease respectively, while June was much better with only a 9% decrease and July even more so with only a 3% decrease.

August Breakdown: Jobs

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In the month of August, only 6 states showed positive growth in number of jobs. However, MOST states that showed a decrease only experienced a minor drop in number of jobs. The average nationwide was an 11% decrease in total number of jobs for the month.

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The states that showed the largest INCREASE in number of jobs from August 2019 to August 2020:

• Cleaning businesses in Delaware had 32% MORE jobs in August 2020

• Cleaning businesses in Nevada had 23% MORE jobs in August 2020

* NOTE: Delaware and Nevada were also the top 2 states in the month of July.

The states that showed the largest DECREASE in number of jobs from August 2019 to August 2020:

• Cleaning businesses in Connecticut had 34% fewer jobs in August 2020

• Cleaning businesses in Vermont had 32% fewer jobs in August 2020

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Overall, the nationwide average shows an 11% decrease in number of jobs.

* NOTE: North Dakota was not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.

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August Breakdown: Revenue

Following pretty much in line with the jobs report, total revenue numbers for the month of August showed a 13% decrease. Overall, 13 states saw no change or showed positive growth.

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The states that showed the largest INCREASE in total revenue between August 2019 and August 2020:

• Cleaning businesses in Georgia had 18% HIGHER revenue in August 2020

• Cleaning businesses in Hawaii and Maryland had 17% HIGHER revenue in August 2020
  

The states that showed the largest DECREASE in total revenue between August 2019 and August 2020:

• Cleaning businesses in South Dakota had 57% lower revenue in August 2020

• Cleaning businesses in New Hampshire had 49% lower revenue in August 2020

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Overall, the nationwide average shows a 13% decrease in total revenue.

* NOTE: North Dakota and Maine were not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.

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Sooo... What Does This Mean?

Over the past several months, we've seen the cleaning industry dip to some pretty severe lows, then slowly begin to recover. While June and July showed some pretty massive increases, August didn't quite continue the upward trend.

Previous months showed large increases with smaller decreases at the ends of the spectrum for both jobs and revenue. While the overall nationwide averages were still negative, many states were showing positive results. However, August's largest increases for jobs and revenue were not near as high as previous months, and the largest decreases were much more severe as well. Also, many more states were in the negative for August.

One thing to take into account is that August is often a very busy month for cleaning businesses, so while the numbers this year are not as good as last year, that doesn't mean the industry isn't still recovering slowly. We're hopeful that many businesses will continue to see growth each month as the industry gets back on its feet!

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The Data

Clients who use ServiceMonster process over 1.25 million cleaning jobs a year. Our clients largely include carpet cleaners, pressure washers, window cleaners and maid service companies. We compared the total number of jobs and total revenue in August 2019 to August 2020 with a constant cohort for both data points.

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The Complete State-By-State Data:

August Jobs

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August Revenue

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