IT employment rose by 0.11% in January after remaining effectively flat throughout most of 2024, according to the TechServe Alliance, the trade association for the IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry.

“While IT employment was anemic throughout much of 2024, January’s month-over-month uptick is cause for cautious optimism,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said in a press release. “I’ll be watching the IT employment data released in March and April to see whether these numbers reflect a solid, longer-term trend or are merely an aberration.”

IT employment in the US rose by 5,700 jobs in January to employment of nearly 5.28 million.

On a year-over-year basis, IT employment rose by 27,000 jobs.

Roberts noted that revisions in US Bureau of Labor Statistics data did have an effect.

“Nonetheless, I’m encouraged to see that this [January’s] IT employment index aligns with what our member companies are telling us: that the environment for IT services appears to be improving,” Roberts said.

Separately, the TechServe Alliance reported that engineering employment fell by 800 jobs, or 0.03%, in January to approximately 2.79 million jobs.