The market for consulting engineering services in Europe is moving upwards again according to the latest EFCA market report.
The European consultancy federation EFCA has published an autumn barometer report on the state of consulting engineering in Europe, which highlights a number of positive trends in a sector that continues to demonstrate resilience despite some challenging economic and political headwinds.
Following a period of recovery, the consultancy and engineering industry is showing signs of stabilisation. The EFCA Market Index has increased by 1.2 points, indicating a slightly more positive outlook than in spring 2025 and over half of the participating countries report stable or improving market conditions. The report indicates that following a strong rebound in 2024, followed by a decline in the previous semester, the market now appears to be moving upward again.
EFCA says that this reflects a gradual normalisation after several years of volatility. Order books remain exceptionally strong, with an average of 10.2 months of secured work, close to the post-pandemic peak. Profitability continues to hold firm and while easing slightly compared to 2023, the European average of 7.0% remains significantly above long-term trends.
The Autumn EFCA Barometer continues to highlight the various market segments. It appears that the energy and transport/infrastructure sectors are leading market growth, while buildings, industry and water show regional variations. Consequently, shortage of qualified staff remains the key challenge for the industry, as it has been since 2021. This is a significant issue in high-demand countries, but across Europe itās becoming less severe.
Rising labour costs have emerged as a more pressing concern, now ranked second, followed by bureaucracy and political uncertainty. Low fees is also a challenge, but the EFCA report says that this appears to be a long-term falling trend, which is now less of a challenge than it was in the past. Lack of projects and late payments are other key reported concerns for the industry.
Commenting on the report, Henrik Garver, chair of EFCAās economic environment committee and the CEO of the Danish Association of Consulting Engineers, said: āWith clear signs of market stabilisation and sustained activity in core sectors such as energy and transport/infrastructure, the European consulting engineering industry continues to demonstrate resilience.ā
EFCAās economic environment committee has the report and analysis based on best available information on the current state of business in the autumn of 2025, collected through a survey by the member associations of EFCA for their respective countries. The data was collected between October and November 2025 and 23 EFCA member associations responded.
