Engineering jobs grew modestly in September, according to the TechServe Alliance’s newly launched engineering jobs index. The number of engineering jobs rose 0.15 percent from the previous month to 2.47 million. On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment has grown by 1.42 percent since September 2012, adding 34,600 engineering workers.

“Unlike IT where employment growth has been robust, engineering jobs have been growing below the rate of the overall workforce,” said Mark Roberts, CEO of the TechServe Alliance. “The tepid growth in engineering employment reflects the caution of many employers in adding jobs.”

TechServe Alliance’s engineering jobs index is based on TechServe’s IT employment index but specifically measures technical engineering employment. The monthly study includes about 24 engineering occupations in 30 select industries and industry sectors employing significant numbers of engineering workers. The index is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

TechServe Alliance is a collaboration of IT staffing firms, solutions firms, clients, consultants and suppliers.