The number of U.S. information technology jobs rose by more than 5.4 percent over the last 12 months ending in May, according to the TechServe Alliance’s IT employment index. IT jobs total nearly 4.45 million in May.

“I am pleased to see accelerating growth in IT employment reflecting robust demand for talent,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said. “Going forward, the greatest risk potentially inhibiting the full potential for IT employment growth in the U.S. is an inadequate supply of talent. As a nation, we need to dramatically increase education and training in STEM occupations and enact reasonable immigration policies that encourage well educated foreign nationals in high-demand skillsets to live and work in the U.S.”

The TechServe Alliance is a collaboration of IT and engineering staffing and solutions firms.

Separately, a survey by Robert Half Technology found that fewer U.S. chief information officers plan to hire in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. The survey found 12 percent plan add more staffing to information technology departments in the third quarter, down from 14 percent in the second.

In addition, 56 percent plan to hire only for existing open roles in the third quarter, down from 61 percent in the second quarter. However, 69 percent of CIOs said it’s somewhat or very difficult to find skilled IT professionals.

Among the skills in greatest demand, 55 percent of CIOs reported network administration and database management. Desktop support followed closely at 54 percent.

The survey included 2,300 telephone interviews with CIOs from a rand sample of U.S. companies.