Engineering Job Trends are on the Up

Kane Partners is a Philadelphia based technical recruitment firm with clients across the United States. Assignments coming in for our engineering practice have picked up significantly since the new year and seem to be building momentum, even as we enter the normally slower summer months.

It is too early to tell for sure the reason for this increase. However, in general engineering and manufacturing tend to go hand in hand. Companies like having the design and manufacturing engineers at or near their manufacturing facilities…where they can have the greatest impact. As manufacturing left our shores for friendlier tax, regulatory and labor cost destinations, engineering has tended to follow.

engineering jobs

While there have been little substantive changes this year, there has been a significant milieu change in the business climate. Companies are expecting something to happen on the tax or regulatory fronts that will positively impact their ability to conduct onshore operations. This anticipation coupled with a general rise in pro-American nationalistic sentiment (witness Mark Levin’s new book Rediscovering Americanism debuting at number one on Amazon this week) have had a positive impact.

While expectations are a powerful thing and can drive stock markets and economic activity for a time, the key to sustaining momentum will be the realization of these anticipated changes. Legislative gridlock will preserve the status quo and virtually ensure the eventual return to anemic manufacturing and engineering growth numbers. On the other hand, if our elected officials can work collectively together, reaching across party lines to find common ground, perhaps we may have begun a new era of prosperity and growth. That would indeed be good news for the millions of people who have been sidelined from our eligible workforce.

In short, what happens in Washington over the next couple quarters will determine whether we have moved into a new growth phase of our economy or not.

Perhaps encouraging calls to your senators or congressmen might be in order. Otherwise, stay tuned, it should be interesting….