Over the last year, engineering has remained a strong segment of the US staffing industry. Even as the overall industry has declined, engineering as a whole has continued to expand. SIA’s US Staffing Industry Forecast: September 2024 Update, estimated that engineering staffing will expand 3% this year on the heels of 5% growth in 2023, when performance was stronger than previously thought.

Of course, overall growth can be an inexact benchmark for engineering staffing. As we make our way through the second half of 2024, the key word in engineering seems to be “pockets.” While the overall trend has been up, growth patterns between industries — and even within industries — have varied widely. Staffing firms that are able to identify these pockets should be able to capitalize on the opportunities. The trick is finding them.

One way to find growth pockets is to look at industry trends. Energy has been the steadiest market with consistent expansion in oil and gas, strong growth in the solar industry and areas of opportunity across other “clean” energy technologies like wind and carbon capture. Outside of energy, demand for engineers in telecom and utilities has also remained strong, as these industries are working to update the nation’s existing infrastructure to accommodate growing needs for electrical power and 5G networks. Additionally, manufacturing companies are continuing to automate production and implement other new technologies to increase efficiencies, leading to strong demand for mechanical and automation engineers.

However, even within well-performing industries, growth trends have not necessarily been consistent across companies or geographies. As is to be expected in a challenging market environment, companies are evaluating their strengths and adjusting their strategies, which may include either ramping up or delaying hiring.

In this situation, the advice is age-old: Follow the money.

In 2023, we spoke a lot about how funding from the federal government helped propel the engineering segment. That funding still exists, but projects are being approved at different times and they are advancing through the phases of implementation at different rates. While solar power installation is currently in the labor-intensive construction phase, solar manufacturing projects are just now receiving funding and initial hiring is starting to kick off as they enter the implementation phase. Meanwhile, hiring for semiconductor projects — which were implemented in 2023 — has slowed while the facilities are constructed. A second wave of hiring opportunity is expected in 2025 as completed factories enter the production phase. Additionally, with the election coming up shortly, it is likely the Biden administration will make a push to complete its unfinished business, including awarding available funds for new projects that would begin later this year or early next.

In areas like civil engineering and utilities, funding tends to be more reliant on local and regional governments, so opportunities differ by geography. In manufacturing and other areas dominated by private companies, it can help to identify targets with large research and development budgets or expansion plans to locate companies with employment needs.

Finally, opportunities exist for staffing companies that choose to focus on the candidates. Although the labor market has begun to swing back in favor of employers, highly paid candidates with specialized skill sets — particularly electrical, mechanical and automation engineers — remain in high demand. However, according to SIA’s temporary worker survey, only 17% of higher-paid, older, and professional workers in general, and architects and engineers in particular, are likely to contact a staffing agency when they need a specialist recruiter — despite being the group that is mostly likely to benefit from staffing services.

Especially with the engineering skills gap only expected to increase, staffing firms stand to benefit from working to create a recruitment culture that focuses on building strong relationships with engineers and positioning themselves as long-term career partners. For more information about the engineering skills gap, and the market in general, see our Engineering Staffing Global Market Assessment 2024 report.