According to a recent report from TechServe Alliance, the U.S. saw growth in its IT and engineering sectors between April and May 2015.
The study revealed that the IT field expanded by .3 percent over the course of April, higher than the national nonfarm payroll growth, which came in at .2 percent during this time. Since May 2014, this industry has grown by 4.8 percent or 225,000 jobs. Currently, the U.S. is home to 4.9 million actively employed IT professionals. Growth was also seen in the engineering sector, which expanded by .1 percent between April and May. The study explained that this field has grown by .9 percent since last May, creating 22,000 jobs to build its current workforce of 2.5 million professionals.
TechServe Alliance’s CEO, Mark Roberts, explained that while any growth is certainly welcome, the expansions seen by these industries can be qualified as “sluggish.” He noted that the slow growth can largely be attributed to a growing IT skills gap. Despite a constantly increasing demand for qualified workers in this industry, the number of students choosing to study this discipline has remained steady. This has prevented the IT industry from hitting its maximum potential, Roberts noted.