2013 is looking promising for architects. A recent Wall Street Journal article, Demand for Architects Builds Momentum, reports that billings of design projects at architecture firms rose 4 consecutive months after having been depressed for 4 years in a languishing housing and real-estate market. The American Institute for Architects’—Architecture Billings Index—rose to 53.2 in November, up two points from the previous year and the highest reading since November 2007. A reading above 50 indicates that billings are increasing.

According to the article, if the trend continues, architecture firms will need to hire new design teams—welcome news for working architects, whose numbers declined to 153,000 in 2011 from 214,000 in 2007. “Rising billings also are viewed as a gauge of future construction activity because real-estate developers tend to break ground on new projects 9–12 months after they hire design firms,” it reads. And with that, 2013 is looking promising for metal construction as well.