IT and engineering job growth slowed in May amid a talent shortage in many skill sets, according to the TechServe Alliance, a national trade association of the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry.

“Both IT and engineering job growth slowed in May,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “Given record low unemployment rates, the slowdown is largely attributable to the shortage of talent in many high-demand skill sets. We are concerned that some of the legislative and administrative policy proposals on immigration would further restrict the already tight labor supply in many IT and engineering occupations causing work to be pushed offshore — an undesirable outcome for US firms and workers.”

The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.1% in May from April to almost 5.3 million, according to the TechServe Alliance. Year over year, IT employment in the US rose by 3.3% in May, adding 170,400 IT jobs.

Engineering employment growth also edged up 0.1% in May from April to almost 2.6 million jobs. Year over year, the increase was only 1.1%, representing 27,800 engineering jobs.