IT employment in the US declined in October — shedding 4,200 jobs from September — for total IT employment of more than 5.2 million, the TechServe Alliance reported on Nov. 6. However, this reflects a small 0.08% decrease in IT jobs.  

The number of IT jobs was also down year over year by 18,100, a decrease of 0.34%. 

“Consistent with the marked drop in employment growth in the broader jobs market, the October IT jobs numbers reflect weakness as we move into late 2024,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said in a press release. “We also see this trend in IT unemployment, which is now at 4% — effectively in parity with the overall unemployment rate of 4.1%.” 

Historically, IT unemployment has been much lower than the broader job market, Roberts noted.  

“What remains to be seen is if this trend continues as we move into 2025. With two major storms impacting the Southeast and the Boeing strike, the decline may be a single month’s aberration rather than an enduring trend,” he said.  

The number of IT jobs was also down year over year by 18,100, a decrease of 0.34%. 

On the other hand, the TechServe Alliance reported that engineering employment rose by 0.76% year over year, adding 21,300 workers, though it fell by 6,600 in October from September, for total employment of more than 2.8 million. 

“Long-term, we know there will be a shortage of highly skilled IT professionals to meet the demands of US businesses, particularly in the areas of cloud, cybersecurity and AI,” Roberts said.