Now that Fiscal Year 2023 has ended, it’s time to start recapping the past year and analyzing any trends that have appeared. What was the federal government spending the most money on? What industries proved to be the most populated by contractors and sought after in the government marketplace? While there are several ways to measure the landscape for the past year, we are going to dive into the top North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes.
Since NAICS Codes are used to classify the types of products and services businesses offer to the government and every GSA Schedule contractor has to have an assigned primary NAICS Code, it’s a great way to see which industries are most popular through the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program.
As discussed above, we chose NAICS Codes for this blog because they represent specific industry codes that are used collect, analyze, and publish statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. By capturing information related to NAICS whether it’s the amount of money spent through a particular code or the number of contractors in each industry, we can get a better understanding of what the government is focusing their efforts on and what trends we can expect for the next year.
Below, we used GSA’s Schedule Sales Query Plus (SSQ+) tool to get a list of the top 10 NAICS Codes for FY 23 so far. All of the numbers from the year may not have been reported yet, but this is the full picture as we have it.
| NAICS Code | Spending in FY 2023 So Far |
| 1. 541519 – Other Computer Related Services | $5,543,284,186 |
| 2. 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services | $4,349,647,074 |
| 3. 541511 – Custom Computer Programming Services | $4,256,923,459 |
| 4. 511210 – Software Publishers | $4,087,610,394 |
| 5. 541512 – Computer Systems Design Services | $1,905,819,888 |
| 6. 541330 – Engineering Services | $1,041,352,719 |
| 7. 561210 – Facilities Support Services | $933,907,329 |
| 8. 541614 – Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services | $866,389,066 |
| 9. 541211 – Offices of Certified Public Accountants | $761,565,687 |
| 10. 334111 – Electronic Computer Manufacturing |
$659,340,473 |
While it’s important to dive into the top NAICS Codes, it’s also helpful to understand how many GSA Schedule contractors are selling under these NAICS Codes. For example, if there’s a large number of contractors and a great number of award dollars then it could be a booming industry, but with a possibility of the market being oversaturated. If it’s a small number of contractors and a lot of money going through, then it could be a more competitive market, but also a great opportunity to break into it.
| NAICS Codes | Number of GSA Schedule Contractors |
| 541519 – Other Computer Related Services |
1,082 |
| 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services |
1,758 |
| 541511 – Custom Computer Programming Services |
1,669 |
| 511210 – Software Publishers | 252 |
| 541512 – Computer Systems Design Services |
574 |
| 541330 – Engineering Services |
701 |
| 561210 – Facilities Support Services |
343 |
| 541614 – Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services |
141 |
| 541211 – Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
103 |
| 334111 – Electronic Computer Manufacturing |
193 |
As you can see above, the top NAICS Code doesn’t necessarily have the greatest number of contractors, but the top 3 NAICS Codes are more populated than the rest. Software Publishers (511210) has a low number of contractors to dollars ratio, meaning there are fewer contractors winning the bulk of the awards.
As we’ve discussed, NAICS Codes give us great insight into which industries the government is spending the most on, but as a bigger picture, the majority of the NAICS Codes above fall into Information Technology (IT) and Professional Services categories. Maybe you didn’t see your primary NAICS Code listed above (which is more than probable), but you want to see where your company’s industry falls on the map.
So, to give us a more well-rounded idea of how much the government was procuring from each industry, we’ll take a look at the top 10 industries for FY 2023 and how much was spent through them under the MAS program.
| Industries | Spending in FY 2023 So Far |
| IT |
$17,118,503,837 |
| Professional Services |
$7,060,682,484 |
| Transportation and Logistics Services |
$1,880,629,921 |
| Facilities and Construction |
$1,159,631,384 |
| Human Capital |
$1,023,976,798 |
| Office Management |
$971,941,138 |
| Travel & Lodging |
$784,534,048 |
| Security and Protection |
$594,755,940 |
| Clothing, Textiles, and Subsistence S&E |
$158,388,928 |
|
Sustainment S&E |
$130,607,986 |
NAICS Codes are a great way to measure procurement habits, but there are other tools you can use to track spending, budgets, and your competitors’ information. For example, you can use sites such as USASpending.gov to track federal budgets and government awards, and you can use GSA eLibrary, GSA Advantage!, and the CALC tool to dig deeper into your competitors’ pricing and profiles.
For more information on market research check out these blogs:
If you need help managing your GSA Schedule so you can begin to go after opportunities, or you are interested in getting a GSA Schedule, one of our consulting experts would be happy to help you.