In December 2011, employers advertised more than 13,000 available positions for industrial engineers, representing a 2 percent increase from December 2010, according to research WANTED Analytics.

During the first half of 2011, the research shows that the volume of job ads for industrial engineers increased significantly but has fallen steadily since reaching a four-year high in May when more than 20,000 job posting were listed online. Still, demand has grown in comparison to other years at 72 percent in 2009 and 49 percent in December 2008. Quality engineer, process engineer and manufacturing engineer were the most commonly advertised job titles for this occupation.

Although the job growth rate is only 2 percent, the research reveals that the number of companies recruiting for industrial engineers grew 15 percent in the past year. Hiring demand differed by metropolitan region, and Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Boston and Detroit experienced the highest volume of job ads in December 2011. Los Angeles employers advertised the most positions during December as well as saw the greatest year-over-year increase at 38 percent between December 2010 and December 2011. Detroit, however, faced a year-over-year decline after listing 4 percent fewer job ads for industrial engineers.