IT employment in the US posted its first monthly gain so far this year in April, but the gain is modest, the TechServe Alliance reported. The number of IT job rose 0.03% in April when compared to March resulting in total IT jobs of approximately 5.3 million, according to the trade association for the IT and engineering staffing and solution industry.

“After three consecutive months of decline, I welcome April’s gains — modest though they may be,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “While encouraged by the shift into positive territory, we believe that the ability to grow IT employment will continue to be under pressure given the significant talent shortage and ever more restrictive immigration policies for high-skilled foreign nationals.”

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment was up by 0.14%, representing the addition of just 7,300 IT workers.

Turning to engineering jobs, employment rose by 0.08% in April compared to March for a total of approximately 2.6 million jobs. Year-over-year, engineering jobs rose by 2.28%, representing an increase of 59,000 engineering workers.