B.C.’s largest engineering firms employ more professional engineers than they did five years ago, but growth has slowed since a large one-year employment increase in 2018.
According to data collected on Business in Vancouver’s Biggest Engineering Firms in B.C. list (page 14), in 2018 the average one-year growth for the largest firms with complete data was 14.3%. The median one-year growth was 11.7%. During the year, eight of the top 18 for which complete information was available increased their number of professional engineers 20% or more. No. 4-ranked Stantec had the largest one-year growth in 2018 at 63.7%.
The growth has slowed since then. In 2019, average one-year growth fell to 2.8%. The average one-year change continued to fall in 2020, with the average number of professional engineers employed decreasing for the first time in at least five years, falling to an average of -0.9%.
Despite the average decline, the median change in professional engineers grew by 1%, suggesting that over the past year smaller companies lower on the list grew at a faster rate than larger companies higher on the list.•
