The number of IT jobs in the US edged down slightly by 0.07%, or 3,800 jobs, in March compared to February, continuing a year-long pattern of effectively flat month-over-month employment levels, according to a report released Friday by the TechServe Alliance, a national trade association of the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry. Year over year, the number of jobs was up 1.3%, or 69,400 jobs.
IT jobs totaled approximately 5.4 million in March.
“The new norm of work-from-anywhere has intensified the competition among companies for high-demand tech skills,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said.
“This is not only putting significant pressure on organizations on the hiring front but also making retention of their existing workforce an imperative,” Roberts said. “Clearly, to be successful in this environment, it’s time for employers to not only rewrite the hiring and retention playbook but also cast a wider net by diversifying the technology talent pool.”
Separately, the report found the number of engineering jobs fell by 0.33% in March from February to a total of 2.68 billion. Engineering jobs were up 3.39% year over year in March, an increase of 87,900 engineering workers.