The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.06% in July from June to a total of more than 5.3 million, the TechServe Alliance announced Wednesday. Despite strong demand for talent in high-demand IT skill sets, IT job growth continues to underperform the overall job market due to an acute talent shortage, according to the group, which serves as the national trade association of the IT and engineering staffing and solution industry.

“It is beyond frustrating to see a large number of opportunities, but not the qualified people to fill these positions,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “The administration’s restrictive immigration policies are encouraging IT work that would otherwise be performed in the US to be pushed offshore.”

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment rose by 0.73% in July, an increase of 38,600 IT workers.

The TechServe Alliance also measures engineering employment, which rose by 0.21% in July from June. Engineering employment increased 2.41% on a year-over-year basis, an increase of 61,300 engineering workers.

Separately, a survey of IT hiring decision-makers by Robert Half Technology found that 95% admitted to making a bad hire, and 38% acknowledged it was due to a skills-based issue — meaning the new hire was unable to do the job as expected. Interpersonal issues at 29% and poor corporate culture fit at 28% also contributed to hiring mistakes, according to the survey. Robert Half Technology’s report is based on a survey of more than 2,500 senior managers in 26 major US markets.