Growth in engineering employment in the US slowed down significantly last month, according to a report by the TechServe Alliance, a trade association of the engineering and IT staffing and solutions industry. Engineering employment edged upward by 0.16% month over month — adding 4,200 workers — to more than 2.6 million jobs in November.

On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment has increased by 3.38%, adding 86,900 engineering workers.

Separately, after a strong recovery in IT employment since August 2020, IT employment in the US also slowed to a trickle, TechServe Alliance reported. IT employment rose by 0.04% month over month in November — up by 2,200 jobs — to nearly 5.4 million jobs.

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment has increased by nearly 3.2%, adding 165,600 IT workers.

"While uncertainty about the impact of the omicron variant did somewhat impact the IT sector, the slowdown in the IT jobs market is more related to the supply squeeze on available talent rather than demand,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “Our members are telling us that their clients’ IT hiring needs are still unmet and projects are getting delayed because of lack of qualified IT professionals.”

There is currently little likelihood the domestic talent pipeline will significantly expand in the foreseeable future, according to Roberts.

“This is causing not only strong wage growth but also a need to offer a flexible work environment,” he said. “In this tight labor market, what candidates want really matters and could make or break the success of IT initiatives.”