In March, IT employment ticked down .04% to 5,344,000 jobs, according to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT & Engineering Staffing and Solutions industry. This is the third monthly decline in 2019. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew by only 0.16% since March 2018 adding a mere 8,600 IT workers.

Engineering employment increased by 0.14 percent sequentially to 2,648,100. On a year-over-year basis, growth in engineering employment increased by 2.47% since March 2018 or 63,900 engineering workers.

"After downward revisions for January, IT employment has declined the first three months of 2019—an inauspicious start to the year," observed Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance.  "On a year-over-year basis, IT employment is barely in positive territory. A supply side phenomenon, the ongoing shortage of IT talent has become a huge obstacle for many businesses in the U.S.  We see no relief in sight with the promise of an ever more restrictive approach to immigration," added Roberts.