IT job growth in the US slowed to a “trickle” last month, according to the TechServe Alliance, a trade group of IT and engineering staffing and solutions firms. It reported the number of IT jobs in the US grew by 0.3% sequentially in December to more than 5.3 million; on a year-over-year basis, the increase was 1.5%.

“Throughout 2017, we saw a steadily declining rate of growth in IT jobs,” said Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “Notably, December’s IT job growth was barely perceptible effectively slowing to a trickle.”

Roberts continued, “While demand for highly skilled IT professionals remains strong, the tight supply of IT talent caused in part by restrictive immigration policies and its associated chilling effect is limiting the growth potential of the US IT workforce.”

Engineering employment increased by 0.07% sequentially in December to almost 2.6 million jobs. The increase was 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.