Engineer Hiring Trends - ACEC Research. Third Quarter 2026

In August 2026 the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Research Institute published their Q3 Engineering Business Sentiment Survey update. Demand for engineers remains strong with most firms (~90%) across all sizes, still reporting open positions and strong project backlogs. Firms continue to be challenged to find structural engineers with the skills and experience needed and are increasingly looking at more of the attributes described in Choosing the Best Engineering Firm for Your Growth | SE Careers to attract and retain engineers.  

The following are a few of the career pertinent trends drawn from results from the ACEC Business Sentiment surveys over the past year.

Industry Trends

↔ Data centers, energy and utilities, water/wastewater, and transportation projects—including airports, roads, and bridges—lead current sentiment. Sentiment across these sectors has remained relatively stable over the past year, with energy and utilities showing the strongest positive trend.

↑ Sentiment for Commercial Real Estate (including Multifamily Residential) and Justice projects (courts and penitentiaries), which had fallen to the bottom of the rankings in recent years, has improved by more than 15% over the past 12–18 months.

↓ Over the past 12–18 months, sentiment has declined by more than 5% in several major markets, including telecommunications and roads and bridges. Large transit projects, particularly rail and train stations, have seen the sharpest decline, with sentiment down more than 15%.

Open Positions by Firm Size Trend

↑ Firms with more than 500 employees are the only size category reporting an average increase in openings, up from 5% to 6% of total employee headcount from last year.

↓ Although most firms with fewer than 51 employees still average at least one open position, their number of openings as a proportion of their total employees has declined ~20% from last year.

Open Position by Region Trend

↔ Most regions outside the West report stable or slightly fewer job openings than last year.

↓The West still shows strong demand for engineers, with open positions of 6–7% of company employee count, however this is down from 8–9% last year.