Engineering employment rose by 0.19% sequentially in October — an increase of 4,900 jobs — to nearly 2.6 million, according to the TechServe Alliance, a trade association for the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry. However, it was down 2.66% compared to October 2019, a loss of 70,600 engineering workers.

Separately, IT employment rose by 0.53% in October, an increase of 27,200 jobs to nearly 5.2 million jobs in total. Still, IT employment was down by 3.20% compared to October 2019, representing a loss of 171,300 IT workers.

“After a precipitous decline in the spring and bottoming out in July, IT employment posted strong growth the last three months including a jump of 0.53% in October,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “While the IT employment market continues to ‘heal’ with talent in high-demand skill sets remaining in short supply, the pace and depth of the ongoing recovery will impact future IT hiring trends.”

Roberts noted that while IT employment is more resilient than many other sectors, it’s still not immune to the prevailing economic winds.