According to the National Association of Computer Consulting Businesses (NACCB), IT employment in August dipped slightly, countering an anticipated rise. The decline, .1 percent, represents a loss of 5,200 workers. The news is not necessarily bad, however and according to the NACCB analysis, is no cause for alarm.

Employment figures for IT professionals remained essentially flat from one year ago, despite strong demand for IT workers. The NACCB interprets this as an indicator of a shortage of qualified personnel. Also lending support to this conclusion is the "extraordinarily low" unemployment rate in many IT skillsets. In general, unemployment below 4 percent is considered "full employment." The dip in employment may be the result of normal employee movement within the sector.

The NACCB publishes a monthly employment report specific to the IT industry. The report analyzes ongoing staffing patterns in 12 IT- and computer-related occupations over 16 broad industries.