The number of US engineering jobs was up only 0.02% in February from January to more than 2.5 million jobs, reported TechServe Alliance, an association of IT and engineering staffing companies. Year over year, the increase was an anemic 0.6%, continuing to underperform the overall workforce.

The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.2% in February from January to almost 5.1 million. Year over year, IT employment in the US rose by 3.8% in February.

“During the first two months of 2016, IT job growth has trended below the growth rate we saw in 2015,” said TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts. “On the engineering side, employment was essentially flat.”

“As with all indices that track aggregated employment data, these numbers mask some of the underlying dynamics of particular industries and skill sets,” Roberts said. “While some high-demand skill sets continue to show considerable strength with an acute shortage of talent, unemployment rates have risen in occupations that serve industries such as energy which remain under pressure.”