Growth in Consulting Engineering Firms Due to Outpace Other Fields

Despite the discouraging employment figures for 2003, engineers could see a surge in employment in the design industry, according to ZweigWhite, a Natick, Mass.-based management consulting firm. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts the employment growth for engineers across all industries will be 9% through 2010. However, the BLS estimates the employment level for electrical engineers will increase 36.8% between 2000 and 2010. This is the second highest growth rate of the four major engineering disciplines (Chart at left). ZweigWhite attributes the increase in employment to the declining number of engineering degrees awarded in recent years. The amount of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees have declined from a peak of 120,727 in 1985-1986 to 104,467 in 1999-2000. As a result, engineering firms now must select from a smaller pool of new job candidates.