Engineering Business Sentiment Q3 2026
Engineering firms continue to operate from a position of strength, even as uncertainty about the broader U.S. economy persists. The ACEC Research Institute’s Engineering Business Sentiment Q3 2026 report provides a timely look at how engineering firms are assessing current business conditions and the year ahead, including firm and industry confidence, market-sector performance, backlogs, hiring expectations and workforce trends. The latest findings show durable workloads, with half of responding firms reporting backlogs of one year or more, while 88% report at least one open position.
Sentiment remains particularly strong in sectors including Data Centers and Water/Wastewater, although firms are taking a more cautious view of the broader economic outlook. The report gives engineering firm leaders valuable benchmarking data to understand how their peers are performing, where opportunities are emerging and which economic and workforce issues may shape the industry over the next 12 months.