The number of US IT jobs has grown by nearly 140,000, or almost four per cent, since October 2005, new research has revealed.

According to the latest IT Employment Index from the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), the annual figures hide "a slight pullback" in IT employment in October.

The IT trade association representing IT staffing and solutions firms said that its data points to continued growth in IT employment and strength in the IT services sector.

There were 3,669,400 IT workers in October, a slight decline of 1,800, or 0.05 per cent, from the previous month.

Speaking at the recent NACCB Annual Conference, economist Alan Beaulieu predicted continued strength in the market for IT services through to the middle of 2008.

The slight decline in October was attributed to dips in employment in some manufacturing sub-sectors, NACCB believes, but service industries continued to show growth.

"In light of strong year-over-year employment data, very favourable anecdotal reports and upbeat predictions from prognosticators, I continue to be very bullish on the prospect for strong demand for the services of IT staffing firms which are able to identify and recruit the right IT professionals on a 'just in time' basis," said NACCB chief executive Mark Roberts.

"Despite the slight downturn in October, I am pleased to see the index reflect strong year-over-year growth in IT employment."

NACCB's IT Employment Index is based on US Bureau of Labour Statistics data, which is subject to monthly revisions.