Tech employment is a mixed bag, selective hiring marks a shift

The IT job market is cooling in the US, with new postings down 19% and open roles falling 7% month-over-month from July to August.

Year-to-date, however, job openings are down just 2%, according to an analysis of a new jobs report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

While employers are still hiring, they’re doing so more selectively, focusing on key areas amid uncertainty, BLS data revealed.

The ‘wait and see’ approach in past months has shifted to targeted growth: invest where it counts and hold elsewhere, according to Ger Doyle, North American regional president at global staffing firm ManpowerGroup.

“Still, the broader labor market is cooling. Fewer job openings, softer wage growth, and longer job searches are signs of a slowdown,” he said. “The hiring momentum that kicked off the year has been tempered by uncertainty.”

“The question now — will this precision drive momentum or define a more selective, skills-first job market?” he said.

In August, 247,000 new tech jobs were added across industries, but sector-specific tech firms cut 2,311 roles. The tech unemployment rate nudged up from 2.9% in July to 3%, with 6.9 million employed in core tech roles, according to the nonprofit trade association CompTIA.

The big monthly swings the IT job market has been experiencing are expected to even out over time, CompTIA said.

IT management consultancy Janco Associates, which typically publishes more conservative figures than CompTIA, placed the unemployment rate for IT workers at 4.5%, with 118,000 out of work.

Janco CEO Victor Janulaitis also called into question the validity of BLS data, saying it is “suspect.”

Revised BLS data shows the IT job market shrank by 9,600 so far this year, after downward adjustments in June (-4,500), July (-10,900), and a loss of 1,300 jobs in August, according to Janulaitis. “Despite this, over 200,000 IT positions remain open,” he said. “Adjustments at those levels of magnitude are not acceptable from any organization. It can only be due to poor data capture, poor infrastructure, incompetence, or political gerrymandering.”

Tim Herbert, chief research officer for CompTIA, said the “unevenness in the data means acknowledging the employers and job seekers struggling with a multitude of challenges “but also recognizing it is not all doom and gloom.”

“Hiring intent data continues to show employers pursuing tech talent across a range of disciplines, from AI and data science to tech support and cloud engineering,” Herbert said.

At 4.3%, the overall US unemployment rate changed little in August, ticking up slightly from 4.2% in July.  The nation added just 22,000 jobs. That fell far short of economist forecasts that had projected 80,000 new positions. Job gains in healthcare were partially offset by losses in federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

“The BLS outlook aligns with CompTIA expectations,” Herbert said, referring to a report issued last week from the federal agency. “CompTIA projects the tech workforce will grow about 2.1 times faster than the overall US workforce over the 2024-2034 period.”

The growth of tech jobs stems from two main factors: deeper tech adoption across all industries (digital transformation) and expansion within the tech sector itself — the largest employer of tech professionals, Herbert said.

Data science positions and cybersecurity positions have the highest growth multiples relative to the overall US workforce at 4.9x and 4.4x, respectively, he said.

ManpowerGroup’s data also aligned with CompTIA’s. Tech hiring is shifting fast, with legacy IT roles giving way to AI and data jobs. Data scientist postings are up 296% and data architects 792% year-over-year, the firm’s data showed.

Active employer job listings that included an AI skills have consistently grown this year and grew again last month. CompTIA’s AI Hiring Intent Index shows an increase of 94% in job listings with AI skill requirements in August compared to the same period in 2024.

Consultancy McKinsey & Co. now projects that demand for AI-skilled workers will outpace supply by two to four times, a skills gap likely to continue at least until 2027.

That echoes what consultancy Deloitte wrote in a recent report. It found that corporate leaders continue to rate critical talent shortages as one of their greatest fears, even as job seekers despair about their hiring prospects. “And yet neither side seems prepared to address it,” Deloitte said in its report.

As AI becomes a core skill in job listings — much like word processing or spreadsheets — candidates can stand out by earning AI credentials and demonstrating a commitment to ongoing learning, according to Herbert.

For employers, success with AI requires more than just technology; it demands coordination across people, processes, and tools. Investing in skills development and talent is as critical as the tech itself.

With constant AI advancements, both candidates and employers must adopt an agile, growth mindset. Critical thinking and adaptability are more valuable than ever, and continuous skill development is key, Herbert said.

Kye Mitchell, head of IT staffing firm Experis North America, said traditional IT roles are no longer the center of gravity. Employers are now prioritizing talent that can architect the future of AI, data infrastructure, and cybersecurity.

“Despite a broader slowdown in IT hiring, we’re seeing extraordinary growth in highly specialized roles,” she said. For example, computer network architect positions are up 691%, and data scientist jobs have shot up 296%.

“While these aren’t isolated spikes, they signal a deeper transformation in how companies are building and securing the digital backbone of their operations,” Mitchell said. “Those with advanced AI and data capabilities are not only more resilient but increasingly indispensable.”Uber turns drivers into AI data labelers in India pilot – ComputerworldRead More