The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.03% in May from April to a total of more than 5.3 million, the TechServe Alliance announced. With the unemployment rate for the overall workforce at historic lows and IT occupations at levels economists would unequivocally deem to be “full employment,” the shortage of IT professionals has become acute, according to the group, which serves as the national trade association of the IT and engineering staffing and solution industry.

“We have hit a wall in terms of IT jobs growth,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “There are simply not enough qualified IT professionals to meet demand. This shortage has only been further exacerbated by the restrictive immigration policies of this administration.”

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment rose by 0.87% in May, an increase of 44,900 IT workers.

The group also measures engineering employment, which rose by 0.18 % in May from April. Engineering employment was up 1.98% on a year-over-year basis, an increase of 50,300 engineering workers.