IT job growth loses steam across the nation

Published September 13, 2018 by Robert Powell, III

IT job growth in the U.S. stalled in August, according to Alexandria-based TechServe Alliance.

The group, a national trade association for the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry, said total U.S. IT employment stood at 5.34 million jobs in August, virtually unchanged from the month before.

“After months of decelerating growth rates, IT employment completely stalled in August,” Mark Roberts, TechServe Alliance’s CEO, said in a statement. “As previously observed, this is totally a supply side phenomenon. There are simply not enough qualified workers to meet demand ­ with the shortage only further exacerbated by restrictive immigration policies.”

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew by 0.54 percent since August 2017, adding 28,900 workers.

Engineering employment increased by 0.09 percent sequentially to 2.6 million. On a year-over-year basis, growth in engineering employment increased by 2.12 percent since August 2017 or 54,200 workers.