MinnEcon Blog

Update: Civil engineers struggling in this economy?

I posted recently on what I thought was an odd circumstance: Civil engineers and architects in Minnesota struggling to find work in this economy.
We'd heard from several engineers and architects from our Public Insight Network telling us they or many of their colleagues were unemployed or worried about losing their jobs.
Here's an update from Mary Detloff, executive director of the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers. She said:
"Things are no better than they were in December. If anything, they've probably worsened some. The influx of stimulus money to the state should help somewhat, particularly in the transportation sector (which is part of the larger umbrella of civil engineering). But we haven't seen that money yet, so it's too soon to tell what effect that may have. Companies are still having layoffs and jobs are pretty hard to come by, though there are a few out there scattered around."
If you have a perspective to share on the current market for engineers and architects, especially in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest, please post below or drop me a line and let me know what you're seeing.
You can also help MPR News track the federal stimulus package by answering a few questions.
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