Though the veterinary industry is seeing glimmers of economic hope, there is still plenty of opportunity for improvement, according to the American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) State of the Industry Report. The third annual report, presented at the opening session of the 2012 AAHA Yealy Conference in Denver, Colo., reviewed data from recent years and identified industry trends. The data reflected total patient and revenue trends for the veterinary channel, and looked at U.S. economic trends and their correlation with the veterinary industry. The data covered over 4,500 practices, 13 million active pet owners and 20 million pets. Hiring by private businesses may be on the rise, as reported by Trends Today in March. Recent data showed that January increased by 173,000 jobs, while February increased by 216,000, beating the projection of 208.000. "Private businesses tend to be hiring more, so things might be looking a little bit better," said Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, executive director of AAHA. Things are also looking up on the consumer side. "Monthly real discretionary retail sales dollars trends have been improving during 2010 and are positive during every month during 2011," Cavanaugh revealed.