Uncertainty in the global economy threatens a year of upheaval in the US consulting industry, as firms deal with a wave of cancelled projects and clients push for lower fees.

Consultancies from Accenture to EY have already cut thousands of jobs to reflect new patterns of demand, and surveys point to a further slowdown in hiring as firms move to protect profits, even as revenues continue to grow overall.

An annual report on the consulting market by Source Global Research, which includes contributions from big firms and is considered a benchmark for the industry, reveals a significant rethink of the use of consultants by US clients because of the economic outlook. More than three-quarters of professional services buyers had cancelled at least some existing projects or scrapped new ones, a Source Global survey found, while two-thirds had paused all existing project work.