Set-Aside Alert exclusive analysis:

Set-asides surge in September to quadruple monthly average

Percentage of set-aside awards obligated in September averages four times higher than in the other months

      Small business federal contractors who rely on set-asides should be having a very busy September, based on Set-Aside Alert’s exclusive analysis of trends from 13 years of federal data.

      From fiscal 2008 through fiscal 2020, an average of 26% of all set-aside award dollars were obligated in the month of September, the last month of the federal fiscal year. The annual proportion of set-aside awards in September ranged from a high of 30% in 2014 to a low of 22% in 2019 (all years are fiscal years in Set-Aside Alert’s analyses).

      Each of the 11 other months generated about 6.7% of total set-aside awards on average. The September percentage was nearly four times higher.

      The analysis shows that the September surge is especially strong for set-asides in comparison to all federal contracts.

      A previous exclusive report by Set-Aside Alert found that 15% to 20% of the year’s contract dollars were awarded in the month of September, from 2008 to 2020 (See Sept. 10, 2021 edition of Set-Aside Alert).

      That was a weaker result than what was experienced during that period for set-aside awards, which average 26% of awards in the months of September.

      Here is the chart of September Set-aside Awards and Total Set-Aside Awards and Percentages of September Awards:

      The chart above also reflects the sharp drop in total set-aside awards from 2018 through 2020, as previously reported by Set-Aside Alert.

      Here is the chart of the September Percentage of Set-Aside Awards and the Average Percentage of Set-Aside Awards for the 11 Other Months:

Editor’s Note: All data is from USASpending.gov. All set-aside awards were included, including those for HBCUs, Buy Indian and Veterans in addition to those for small businesses, small disadvantaged, HUBZone, women-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned. Also, please note that the Sept. 10 edition erroneously said the data was for 14 fiscal years in total. It was for 13 years.

More information:
USASpending.gov:USASpending.gov

(URLs in Set-Aside Alert have been shortened by the bit.ly URL shortener)

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