The Real Deal New York

From the January issue: The phones are quiet at Ruth Hirsch Associates, a New York recruitment firm whose clients include design, architectural and construction firms, as well as universities and hospitals. The company primarily matches firms with architects and other design professionals with at least five years of experience. But now, inquiries have all but halted as layoffs at clients’ offices have increased. While other sources said junior-level architects are the ones most likely to lose their jobs, Hirsch said she knows of licensed architects with six years of experience who have been shown the door. In response to the construction slowdown, New York architectural firms are shedding staff, trimming expenses and switching from residential projects to lower-risk work on institutional and governmental projects with secure funding.