JOBBER HOME SERVICE ECONOMIC REPORT
Jobber Tracks the Pulse of Home Service
Jobber is the leading software platform for small Home Service businesses. It supports over 350,000 professionals across industries like landscaping, HVAC, plumbing, and cleaning, helping them manage operations and get paid faster.
Home Service is a major but underreported part of the small business economy—local, labor-intensive, and essential. The Home Service Economic Report (HSER) leverages Jobber’s proprietary data drawn from its more than 350,000 users to offer a rare, real-time view oftrends in consumer demand, revenue, and economic conditions across four key segments: Green, Cleaning, Contracting, and Construction.
The HSER delivers actionable insights on market shifts, challenges, and strategies, helping businesses understand what’s happening, why it matters, and how to succeed.
Q4 2025 at a Glance
Q4 marked a stabilization period for the Home Service economy, as improving late-quarter conditions helped offset a mixed start and position the category for steady momentum heading into 2026.
- Consumers saw modest budget relief, but the cost of essentials remained high. Slowing inflation provided some breathing room, yet elevated prices kept spending focused on practical, value-oriented products and services.
- The Fed cut rates, yet borrowing remained expensive. The Federal Reserve’s December rate cut signaled the start of easing, but financing costs stayed high relative to past years, limiting appetite for large or discretionary, debt-funded projects.
- Housing activity improved late in the quarter, while inventory shrank. Home sales and mortgage rates improved late in the quarter, supporting an uptick in move-related work. At the same time, tight housing supply meant many chose to stay put, focusing on maintenance and targeted improvements.
- Year-end momentum lifted Q4 results across Home Service. The quarter was bumpy early on, but December helped stabilize quarterly performance. Revenue held up across all segments as pricing and mix offset fluctuating job volume.
- Q4 reinforced expectations for steady growth ahead in 2026. Economic conditions are expected to stabilize gradually as rates ease, supporting modest gains in housing activity. However, consumers remain cautious, making efficiency and intentional pricing strategies essential to converting opportunity into growth in 2026.
The Broader Home Service Economic Landscape
By year-end, inflation had eased to 2.7%1 year-over-year, but affordability remained a constraint as prices for essentials stayed elevated. Consumer sentiment reflected this tension: households had slightly more breathing room but remained cautious, prioritizing repairs and high-value projects over discretionary upgrades.
Financial conditions also began to loosen as the Federal Reserve cut rates in December to a target range of 3.5% – 3.75%2. However, borrowing costs remained high compared to pre-pandemic levels. Combined with muted consumer sentiment as reflected in the University of Michigan’s index3, these conditions drove more conservative spending decisions, reinforcing a focus on necessary repairs, seasonal work, and higher-value projects with clear returns.
Housing showed signs of improvement late in the quarter, but supply constraints continued to limit household moves. Existing home sales rose in December to an annualized rate of 4.35 million4, and mortgage rates eased to around 6.2%5. At the same time, inventory remained tight at roughly 3.3 months of supply6, and average prices began to edge down from all-time highs7. In this environment, both households that are moving and those choosing to stay put are supporting demand across move-related services, maintenance, and targeted home improvements.
Home Service Category Performance
Segment Snapshot: December momentum lifts Q4 results across Home Service
Across all four major Home Service segments, Q4 followed a familiar pattern: uneven demand in October and November, followed by a broad rebound in December. While job volume varied by segment, higher invoice values and a more favorable job mix helped sustain revenue growth, underscoring the importance of pricing power.
Green
Sharp surge in outdoor demand drives strong Q4 performance
Green finished Q4 with new work scheduled up 3% year-over-year, with a large 19% year-over-year jump in volume during December. Average invoice size increased 5% year-over-year for the quarter, supporting a 10% year-over-year revenue growth.
The strong December finish suggests businesses are able to continue capturing more value per visit as homeowners prioritize year-end cleanups and seasonal prep. Milder December8 temperatures likely helped extend year-end activity, supporting the spike in jobs booked.
Cleaning
Stable demand and higher-value work support steady Q4 growth
Cleaning remained resilient in Q4, with new work scheduled up 2% year-over-year for the quarter. Growth strengthened in November and remained positive through December. Average invoice size increased 6% year-over-year, supporting 5% year-over-year median revenue growth.
The pattern signals that cleaning businesses continue to grow, driven by a return in consumer demand and a continued willingness to pay in this constrained market. Broader market trends show janitorial service pricing increased roughly 5% year-over-year9, indicating services remained in line with customer expectations.
Contracting
Higher-value work offsets unstable volume
The Contracting segment finished Q4 with flat year-over-year growth in new work scheduled, after two months of decline, followed by a 6% year-over-year increase in December. Average invoice size increased 1% year-over-year in the quarter, indicating modest pricing power even as job volume remained tight.
December also delivered a clear 10% year-over-year lift in median revenue, supported by weather conditions and an additional business day, with late-quarter project mix likely contributing. The ongoing shortage of skilled trades, plus increasing labor and material costs10, appeared to contribute to the trade-off between more scheduled work and larger ticket sizes.
Construction
Larger projects support growth despite fewer jobs
Construction saw new jobs decline 2% year-over-year in Q4, with job volume dropping sharply in November before being slightly offset in December. Average invoice size increased 4% year-over-year for the quarter, supporting 5% year-over-year median revenue growth even as new jobs fluctuated.
This declining pattern aligns with broader residential construction trends, where employment fell roughly 1% year-over-year11 as project volumes softened. National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Market Index shows strong growth in the sector, stating aging housing stock and strong equity as drivers12.
Final Thoughts on 2025
Q4 closed with clearer signs of stabilization across the Home Service economy. Cooling inflation, initial rate easing, and improving housing activity supported year-end momentum, even as affordability pressures and tight inventory shaped homeowner behavior.
Across segments, growth was sustained not by rising volume but by pricing and job mix. Businesses that executed well were able to convert steady demand into stable revenue despite ongoing uncertainty.
2026 Outlook
2026 is shaping up to be a “steady improvement” year for the broader economy as we come out of a year full of uncertainty with more stable footing. The Federal Reserve’s December projections point to moderate 2.3% growth in real GDP and inflation continuing to cool to 2.4%13. The Fed expects rates to continue to decline gradually, with its median forecast pointing to a 3.4% federal funds rate—lower than today but still well above levels in the past decade13.
Consumers are entering 2026 with caution. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell again in December to 89.1, and its Expectations Index held at 70.714. McKinsey’s consumer research echoes this sentiment, showing that consumers remain selective with their spending and trading down to manage their budgets15. Together, these signals point to continued price sensitivity and more selectivity around discretionary spending.
For Home Service, housing is the biggest swing factor, especially for project‑based work. The National Association of Realtors forecasts existing-home sales rising ~14% in 202616, with various sources expecting mortgage rates to average around 6%, signalling a pickup in housing turnover.
On the renovation side, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies expects homeowner improvement and repair spending to stay positive but slow through 2026, with growth settling from ~2.9% early 2026 to ~1.6% by late 2026, and total annual spending reaching $522B by the end of 202617.
Demand will continue to center on repairs, maintenance, and practical upgrades, with housing turnover contributing more slowly over time. Success in this market will depend less on volume alone and more on operational focus, thoughtful pricing, and long-term customer loyalty.
Methodology & Data Sources:
- Inflation data is sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via Trading Economics.
- The interest rate data is sourced from The Federal Reserve, via Trading Economics.
- Consumer sentiment data is sourced from Surveys of Consumers by the University of Michigan.
- Existing Home Sales data is sourced from the National Association of Realtors, via Trading Economics.
- 30-Year fixed-rate mortgage rates were sourced from Freddie Mac, via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
- Supply of Existing Homes data is sourced from the National Association of Realtors, via MacroMicro.
- Existing Home Sales Prices data is sourced from the National Association of Realtors, via Trading Economics.
- Temperature data is sourced from National Centers for Environmental Information.
- PPI Data on Janitorial services is sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
- Construction and contracting labor and materials cost data is sourced from Verisk.
- Employment Data for Residential Building Construction is sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
- Remodeling Market Index is sourced from National Association of Home Builders.
- Economic indicator projections are sourced from the Federal Reserve.
- Consumer Confidence Index is sourced from a press release issued by The Conference Board on December 23, 2025.
- Consumer Sentiment data is sourced from Mckinsey’s ConsumerWise.
- Existing home sale projection data is sourced from National Association of Realtors.
- The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) is sourced from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
- Home Service insights in this report are based on proprietary data aggregated from over 350,000 Home Service professionals using Jobber across the United States. This includes segment performance* and digital payment adoption.
*The year-over-year change in median revenue, new work scheduled, and invoice sizes were calculated by aggregating data from a cohort of businesses using Jobber since January 2023. This doesn’t include any new businesses that started using Jobber during that period.
