Revenues for contract commercial and residential cleaning services are forecast to advance 4.8 percent annually to $68.3 billion in 2016. According to reports from The Freedonia Group, growth will be driven by customers returning to more frequent cleaning schedules as the economy continues to improve, especially those who reduced their use of cleaning services in order to minimize expenses in response to the effects of the 2007-2009 recession. Gains will also be supported by faster growth in the number of households and a rebound in the number of business establishments. Furthermore, the recession motivated many cleaning companies to diversify and offer a wider range of services at more competitive prices, and the growing affordability and use of cleaning services will support revenue gains.   

Nonresidential markets account for the vast majority of cleaning service revenues, making up almost 80 percent of the total in 2011. In addition, many companies that previously employed in-house cleaning staff reduced operating expenses by outsourcing cleaning services as the economy worsened. Demand for cleaning services in the nonresidential market is more inelastic than in the residential market due to the sizable existing base of nonresidential floor space and the need to keep this space clean. Due to the poor economic climate, nonresidential cleaning service revenue growth decelerated over the 2006-2011 period. Going forward, revenues will benefit from the continued trend of outsourcing cleaning functions to cut costs.  Rebounding nonresidential construction activity and growth in the number of business establishments will also aid revenue gains.