Despite numerous headlines about tech layoffs over the past several months, the actual rate of such layoffs remains fairly steady, according to a new breakdown by layoffs.fyi, which crowdsources layoff information.
The latest layoffs.fyi breakdown also lists the more prominent tech companies that have cut back on workers over the past month, including (but not limited to) Microsoft, eBay, Priceline, PayPal, and Bytedance. Here’s a historical chart that shows the ebbs and flows of tech layoffs over the past few years:
We’re a long way from early 2023, when some of the biggest names in tech collectively cut tens of thousands of workers as part of larger post-pandemic restructurings. Nonetheless, macroeconomic pressures are still driving some companies to retool their existing workforces.
Meanwhile, the tech unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in June, a notable increase after dipping to 2.5 percent in May. “Despite pockets of growth, the recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment,“ Tim Herbert, chief research officer of CompTIA, wrote in a statement accompanying its analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. “A combination of factors, including AI FOMO, likely contributes to segments of employers taking a wait and see approach with tech hiring.”
Some of the jobs that have enjoyed increases in job postings this year (and can thus be considered more layoff-resistant) include:
- Data scientists
- Database administrators
- Software developers
- Web developers
- Network architects
- Tech support specialists
While unemployment and layoff rates fluctuate, keep in mind that companies everywhere still need highly specialized tech talent for a range of tasks, from building websites to training the next generation of AI models. If you have the skills, companies in multiple industries need you.
