Pittsburgh-based information technology staffing firm Mastech Holdings Inc. (NYSE MKT: MHH) reported revenue rose 19.5 percent year over year in the first quarter to $28.7 million. Demand for IT staffing services was solid in the first quarter and largely in-line with activity levels of a quarter ago, according to the company.

First-quarter gross margin of 18.2 percent was unchanged from the year-ago quarter.

Mastech reported first-quarter net income rose 51.1 percent to $869,000.

“We are pleased to deliver strong year-over-year financial results in our traditionally challenging first quarter, as we were able to increase our billable consultant-base by approximately 3 percent,” said CEO Kevin Horner. “Operationally, we continue to strive for productivity gains in both our sales and recruitment organizations.”

Shares in Mastech were up 3.93 percent in early afternoon trading to $17.21 and Mastech has a market cap of approximately $73.95 million, according to Yahoo!