JSfirm's latest Hiring Trends Survey, released this week at Heli-Expo 2018, shows growing demand for aviation workers. Of the nearly 400 aviation companies surveyed, 71 percent are projecting moderate to significant growth in 2018, the industry staffing website reported.

As a result of that widespread optimism, 80 percent of respondants said they intend to hire more staff, with 17 companies adding that they plan to hire more than 200 workers each. More than half of the companies told JSfirm (Booth C2450) that they expect to make those staff additions in the first half of this year.

When asked which category of employees they intended to add, maintenance technicians and pilots garnered the most votes. A shortage of qualified professionals was indicated by far as the biggest challenge companies face in filling those positions.

Among the respondents, 86 percent reported that they did not eliminate any jobs last year. On the other side of the coin, 10 companies indicated that they did cut between 21 and 100 positions each, while one company noted that it downsized by more than 200 workers.