Engineering Staffing Report: Sept. 24, 2020

Print

Engineering adds jobs in August, but employment still down year over year

Engineering jobs in the US rose last month, according to the TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry.

The number of engineering jobs in the US rose 0.56% in August from July to 2,568,500 jobs.

However, engineering employment by 3.36% year over year in August, representing a loss of 89,200 engineering workers. 

In addition, technology jobs in the US rose in August for the first time in 10 months, according to the association.

The number of technology jobs in the US rose 0.40% in August from July to 5,133,600 jobs. However, IT employment fell by 4.12% year over year in August, representing a loss of 220,400 IT workers on a net basis.

“After declining for 10 consecutive months, IT employment posted strong growth in August, turning up by 0.40%,” said TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts. “After a brutal Spring with two month-over-month declines of more than 1%, it appears we have turned a corner.”

While good news — and IT continues to be more resilient than other sectors — the data do not necessarily indicate it will be “clear sailing” ahead, according to Roberts.

“Given we are still being impacted by the pandemic, we don’t yet have an effective vaccine, and broad swaths of the economy are still reeling, I expect we will continue to see volatility in employment numbers for the foreseeable future,” he said.