The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.3% in February from January to almost 5.3 million, reported the TechServe Alliance, an association of IT and engineering staffing companies. Year over year, IT employment in the US rose by 3.9% in February, adding 196,200 IT jobs.

“IT employment continued to grow with acceleration in the rate of growth in February,” said TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts. “While the acceleration was modest, it reverses the general trend of modest deceleration we have seen over the past six months.”

Engineering employment growth edged up 0.2% in February from January to more than 2.5 million jobs. Year over year, the increase remained anemic at 0.9%, representing 23,100 engineering jobs.

“While the macroeconomic environment remains favorable for continued demand for IT talent, I remain concerned about the potential governmental action which could restrict job growth in the US through restrictive immigration policies — pushing projects and jobs overseas,” Roberts said. “This would be a horrific outcome for both US-based businesses and workers.”