InfoComm: new Pro-AV business index and perspectives for the summer

The new InfoComm Study on Pro-AV sales and employment pertaining to the month of May has been released. Overall, between lights and shadows, the outlooks seem positive
The latest monthly study conducted by InfoComm International®, the trade association that represents the companies of the Pro-AV sector, pertaining to sales and employment in the Pro-AV sector has been released: the framework traced by the association is based on an ethnographic qualitative approach, through an enquiry submitted to 584 members of the InfoComm AV Intelligence Panel (AVIP). The results, thus underlining some critical issues, prove to be generally positive, in line with what has emerged in the previous months.
The May InfoComm Pro-AV Sales Index stands on solid ground at 62.5, down modestly from 63.4 in April, but remaining well above the 50 benchmark (an index of 50 indicates firms saw no increase or decline in their business activity). Although still in positive territory, after significant gains in April, the international sales indexes in April and May are showing signs of a slowdown. The international AV market and business in general have experienced political and economic volatility. The index reflects that downward trend, impacted by the EU Brexit vote and the UK government now in limbo. The instabilities in multiple countries’ governments in South America are creating economic concerns in that region. While Asia is showing growth, there are reservations as governments are assessing new monetary and financial regulations, along with trade deals that may impact their local economies.
The AV Employment Index, on the other hand, increased modestly and remains strong at 60.5. The strength of the AV industry is creating a tight labor market, as qualified workers are hired at a fast pace; thus, on the negative side, there are fewer qualified people to fill current openings as they become available. “The labor force of our customers continues to be a bottleneck. Growth will be dependent on the industry’s ability to attract talent and capitalize on the opportunity” says a manufacturer, from North America. This is the somehow-complementary complaint of an Asian AV Service Provider: “it is hard to find good quality employees, and when you do, you have to constantly be putting incentives in place so they don’t leave.”
Nonetheless, the final outlook seems to be globally encouraging: the Pro-AV market, despite some geopolitical instabilities, seems to be a field in slow but constant growth. A strong reorganization at the level of production, with the convergence of traditionally distinct industrial sectors, seems to correspond to a phenomenon of high specialization of the workers in that field, with all the consequences that it leads to in terms of work conditions and human resources management. We just have to wait, then, for professional and academic formation to register this trend, in Italy and worldwide, placing itself as a hinge between the supply and demand of work.
Details of the study can be found at the following link: www.todaypdf.com/view/45316-pro-av-business-index-remains-solid-heading-into-summer-a.html
More information at https://infocomm.org