IT employment ticked up 0.02% in June from May to more than 5.3 million US jobs, but growth remains subdued, according to data released by the TechServe Alliance, the national trade association for the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry. Year over year, the number of IT jobs in the US rose by just 0.07%.

“While IT employment was in positive territory for the third consecutive month, the rate of growth remains anemic with an inadequate labor pool to meet demand. We do not see any relief in sight with this trend further exacerbated by restrictive immigration policies,” said Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “On a positive note, engineering employment posted strong growth in June — its strongest performance of the past year.”

US engineering employment rose 0.28% to nearly 2.7 million in June. It was up 2.24% year over year.