A U.S. government report showing that hiring is up had some good news for IT workers: The tech industry added about 7,100 jobs in November, an increase of 0.17% from the previous month. At the same time, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) moved to block legislation that would eliminate per-country caps on employer- sponsored green cards.According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the industry group TechServe Alliance, the overall employment number for the tech industry reached almost 4.068 million last month, representing a year-over-year gain of 2.1%. The total is close to the all-time high of 4.088 million reached in June 2008, according to TechServe. IT pay might be seeing gains as well, though the data supporting that is more anecdotal. The TechServe Alliance total considers only high-tech industry workers; it might not account for someone working in IT at, say, a food manufacturer. Mark Roberts, CEO of the alliance, said his member firms are seeing strong IT demand. “I remain very bullish going into 2012,” he said. Meanwhile, Grassley said he is blocking Senate action on the so-called Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act because “it does nothing to better protect Americans.” The bill had sailed through the U.S. House in late November on a 389-15 vote. Grassley didn’t say what changes he’s seeking, but he placed the bill on hold, putting it into a procedural limbo that could sink it.This version of this story was originally published in Computerworld‘s print edition. It was adapted from an article that appeared earlier on Computerworld.com. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe