In September, IT employment dipped 0.13% over August's numbers, according to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the Technology Staffing and Solutions Industry. While there have been small month-to-month variances, IT employment has been effectively flat for more than a year. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment inched up a mere 0.01% from September 2021, adding a net of 500 jobs. The Engineering sector showed a year-over-year job growth rate of 3.7%, with the addition of 97,900 jobs during the year.

"While IT employment dipped modestly in September, when we step back and look at multiple data points it is clear we are in a no-growth environment due to the lack of available talent," observed TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts. "In addition to adding only 500 net new IT jobs (reflecting a mere 1/100 of one percent increase) and an IT unemployment rate of only 2.3% in Q3, there were almost 500,000 registrations in the most recent H-1B lottery competing for 85,000 visas for skilled foreign workers."

Even if some sectors of the economy soften and pull back in their hiring, demand for tech talent will continue to outstrip supply for the foreseeable future, Roberts added.