Rising employment levels are almost always a positive sign indicating a business is growing. That being the case, landscape contractors are on a roll — again. And this is also a positive sign for retailers, particularly outdoor power equipment dealers, who supply the equipment needs for those maintaining parks, corporate facilities and homeowners with lawn and turf services.

Between 1990 and 2007, employment in landscaping services expanded for 17 straight years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in this sector more than doubled, from about 300,000 in 1990 to 681,500 in 2007.

After peaking that year, the housing bubble burst, taking the stock market and nearly every U.S. market segment, including landscaping services, with it.

By 2010, the number of employees in that sector dropped by nearly 10% to 616,000. Since that time, though, employment levels have consistently increased. By 2016, for instance, employment in landscape services had risen by nearly 11% to 756,000 landscape service employees.

With increased new home building in 2017, it’s expected that landscape hiring trends will follow suit.