According to the November 2022 Pulse Survey Report, engineering staffing revenue was up a median 6% year over year in October, down from 11% in the previous survey. On an aggregate basis, revenue was up 13% year over year in October, meaning that revenue at larger engineering staffing companies was higher than that at smaller engineering staffing companies.

In the Pulse, a net 29% of engineering staffing companies reported a positive revenue trend, down from a net 58% in the previous survey. The net percent of firms expecting a positive trend in the next six months in new orders (33%) and bill rates (57%) is slightly lower than the net percent observing a positive trend in the last three months (44% and 64%, respectively).

While year-over-year trends in the Pulse report show healthy but slightly decelerating growth throughout 2022 and going into the new year, it is also good to consider US employment trends. In the December 2022 Jobs Report, we see that natural resources/mining employment reached 639,000 jobs in November, an increase of nearly 10% year over year. In fact, since January, year-over-year growth has been consistently near the 10% to 11% range. And per the TechServe Alliance, engineering employment was up 3.6% in November. Engineering employment per this index has been on a steady incline since the beginning of 2021.

In our US Staffing Industry Forecast: September 2022 Update, we project 9% growth in engineering staffing in 2022 and 5% in 2023. Engineers with technical and digital skills are in demand to complete a wide variety of energy projects.

To see how 2022 ends and get an idea on how 2023 is beginning, participate in the next Pulse survey, which will be in January. Keep an eye out for invite emails in the first half of the month or visit our Surveys webpage.