Reversing Slide, IT Employment Turns Positive in August
In August, IT employment increased by 0.40% to 5,133,600 jobs, according to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT & Engineering Staffing and Solutions Industry. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment has declined by 4.12% since August 2019 shedding 220,400 IT workers.
Engineering employment grew by 0.56% sequentially to 2,568,500. On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment decreased by 3.36% since August 2019, a loss of 89,200 engineering workers.
“After declining for ten consecutive months, IT employment posted strong growth in August turning up by 0.40%,” observed Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “After a brutal Spring with two month-over-month declines of more than 1 percent, it appears we have turned a corner. While good news and IT continues to be more resilient than other sectors, it does not necessarily indicate it will be “clear sailing” ahead. Given we are still being impacted by the pandemic, we don’t yet have an effective vaccine, and broad swaths of the economy are still reeling, I expect we will continue to see volatility in employment numbers for the foreseeable future,” added Roberts.