The IT sector in the US added only 2,000 jobs in December, with limited supply of talent to blame rather than demand, according to an analysis by the TechServe Alliance, a trade association representing the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry.

“We expect a continued slowdown in hiring with a flat employment growth rate in the IT and engineering sectors for some time to come,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “With the tech unemployment rate dropping to 2%, it is clear the slowdown is more a function of companies struggling to find qualified talent rather than lack of demand.”

December’s month-over-month increase in IT jobs represented an increase of only 0.04% for total jobs to a total of nearly 5.4 million.

“If you haven’t done so already, now’s a good time to revisit compensation and benefits packages to ensure they are competitive in today’s new normal, work with your recruiters to adopt a location-no-bar hiring policy, update your technology and security to enable smooth remote work environment,” Roberts said.

The TechServe Alliance also reported engineering employment rose by 0.23% sequentially in December to a total of nearly 2.67 million.