January
2026 Jobs Report
January
2026 Jobs Report
How are tech jobs faring in the hiring market?
The tech hiring market concluded 2025 with continued challenges, as tech job postings declined 6% month-over-month in December. This decrease aligned with typical end-of-year hiring patterns, though the year-over-year picture showed a 7% decline compared to December 2024, reflecting broader market adjustments as companies navigate ongoing economic uncertainty.
This monthly decline reflects companies maintaining cautious hiring strategies amid an uncertain economic environment and ongoing workforce transformations driven by artificial intelligence adoption. The continued contraction suggests that employers are prioritizing operational efficiency and strategic positioning over expansion.
AI skills demand reached new heights in December. Fifty-five percent of U.S. tech job postings now require AI skills, up from 52% in November. This represents an 84% increase from December 2024, reinforcing that AI capabilities have become fundamental requirements across the technology sector.
Where are tech job postings concentrated?
Despite broad market contraction, certain sectors showed resilience in December. Healthcare led month-over-month growth with a 22% increase, likely driven by continued digital health investments and AI-powered medical technology implementations.
Consulting (+8%), Retail (+7%), Manufacturing (+6%), and Software (+3%) were the only other industries posting month-over-month growth. These sectors appear to be investing in technology infrastructure and digital transformation initiatives even as broader tech hiring slowed.
Year-over-year trends reinforced Manufacturing's exceptional performance with 102% growth, positioning it as the standout growth sector. Finance/Banking maintained strong momentum with 57% growth, while Retail posted 22% gains and Software achieved 15% growth. These patterns suggest companies are prioritizing operational modernization and customer-facing technology investments.
Regional hiring patterns shift
At the state level, December brought mixed results across major tech markets. The top five hiring states by volume showed varied performance: California (-12%), Texas (-5%), Virginia (-3%), New York (+3%), and Illinois (-6%). New York was the only state among the top five to post month-over-month growth.
Year-over-year growth was limited to three states: New Jersey led with 25% gains, Illinois achieved 23% growth, and California managed 15% growth. These results reflect continued concentration of tech hiring in established markets with strong technology ecosystems.
Metro-level data revealed challenging conditions across most major tech hubs. Austin was the sole metropolitan area with month-over-month growth at 5%. The top 10 metro areas by hiring volume all experienced month-over-month declines, with San Francisco (-20%) and San Jose (-18%) showing the steepest drops, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth (-11%) and Los Angeles (-8%). These declines align with recent layoff activity across Silicon Valley, as companies including HPE and Hitachi Vantara announced job cuts in the region during the final quarter of 2025.
Who are companies hiring right now?
December hiring patterns revealed strong demand for enterprise technology specialists and business-integrated technical roles. Month-over-month, SAP EWM Consultants, Application Support Analysts, Workday HCM Analysts, Cybersecurity Managers, ServiceNow Business Analysts, Software Product Engineers, and React.js Developers all posted growth above 150%.
Additional roles showing notable month-over-month growth included Directors of Cyber Security, Documentation Specialists, Cloud Systems Administrators, Application Architects, Android Software Engineers, and Applications Programmers, all with growth above 100%. This pattern suggests companies are prioritizing roles that bridge technical implementation with business strategy.
The skills landscape emphasized business integration and operational excellence. Month-over-month skill growth was led by Proposal Development (83%) and Client Services (69%), reflecting the evolution of technology roles toward more customer-facing and business development functions. ITIL Foundation Certification (48%) and Public Trust Clearance (47%) growth indicates continued demand for structured IT service management and government contracting capabilities.
Year-over-year skill trends reinforced the importance of interpersonal and management capabilities in technology roles. Client Services led with 425% growth, followed by Cross-Functional Collaboration (403%) and Team Management (349%). These increases reflect the maturation of technology organizations, where technical professionals are increasingly expected to work across departments and lead collaborative initiatives.
Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure (288%) growth indicates the movement of AI initiatives from experimental phases to production deployment, requiring dedicated infrastructure specialists. Technology Ecosystems (264%) growth reflects the complexity of modern tech stacks and the need for professionals who can navigate integrated technology platforms.
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Methodology
To present the insights in this report, Dice used job posting data provided by Dice's partner, Lightcast, which has a database of more than 3 billion current and historical job postings worldwide. Dice pulled data on January 6, 2026 and analyzed over 7 million tech job postings in the U.S. to gather our specific dataset, which we then filtered for "Information Technology" jobs that fall under "Full Time," "Part Time" and "Flexible Hours." We gathered the list of top employers in the "Industry Analysis" section by using the above criteria, with an additional filter for job postings that only derive from employer sites. This report is based entirely on real-time job posting data and is independent of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment reports. This Dice report provides timely labor market insights derived directly from employer hiring activity rather than survey-based employment statistics. The information in this report is a snapshot of tech job posting data as of January 6, 2026, and backward revisions to prior month's data may occur from the sources used in this report.
About Dice
Dice’s hiring solutions help thousands of companies find and filter through millions of quality technology professional profiles, so you can quickly fill your open roles with the best tech talent. Equipped with AI matching tools, employer branding solutions and hiring insights tailored to individual recruiting needs, Dice makes it easy for recruiters and HR managers to post their jobs, source ideal talent and elevate their brands all in one place. With a fresh perspective on connecting technology professionals to the companies that need them, Dice is the trusted way to hire and get hired in tech. To learn more about what Dice can do to elevate your tech hiring, visit Dice.com/hiring today.