Tech sector continues downward slide amid modest US job growth in November

The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November, but the slide in tech jobs continued, with the telecom sector and computer systems design seeing declines.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the number of people employed in November totaled 163.7 million, while the number of unemployed was 7.1 million.

The overall unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September. (The BLS did not release a jobs report in October because of the government shutdown going on at the time.)

The telecom sector lost 600 jobs, with the number of people employed in November pegged at 598,800, down from 599,400 in the previous report, according to a sector-wise breakdown provided by BLS. The telecom sector employed 614,500 in November 2024.

The hardest-hit area involved computer systems design and related services, which lost 3,200 jobs. The number employed in that sector was 2,403,200 in November, declining from 2,406,400 previously. The employee count in that sector was 2,444,700 a year ago.

According to the US Census Bureau, these jobs include tech support, programming, and systems integration positions.

CompTIA analyzed the BLS data and pegged total tech job losses at 6,878. “The bulk of reductions occurred in the IT and custom software services and systems design category,” the group said in a statement.

CompTIA estimates technology companies employ some 5.3 million workers, with 6.6 million people in tech occupations across all sectors.

“Tech occupation employment, which encompasses employers across all industry sectors, declined by an estimated 134,000 workers,” CompTIA said.

Going into 2026, the job market in the tech industry doesn’t look any rosier, according to numbers released by Janco Associates earlier this month.

“We forecast there will continue to be a decrease in the size of the US job market for IT pros through the first quarter of 2026,” Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates, said in a blog post.

Although IT professional hiring rose to 95,000 in October from 94,000 in September, that increase couldn’t offset the job losses elsewhere, Janulaitis said.

Many job cuts have been attributed to the rise of AI technologies, which can automate tasks typically done by humans. Challenger, Gray and Christmas, which releases its own employment numbers, attributed 31,039 job losses (tech and non-tech) to AI; that was second to 50,437 job losses due to cost-cutting measures.

The ongoing business pivot to AI is affecting software developers, who have been long in demand. That is not so much the case now, said Kye Mitchell, head of Experis North America, a division of services firm ManpowerGroup.

That softening underscores “a pivot toward data and machine learning expertise,” Mitchell said.

AI skills in job postings are up 5% currently compared to the same time in 2024. That signals early signs of structural change, Mitchell said.

Postings for data scientists are up 219%, database architects have climbed 507%, and computer network support specialists are up 349%, Experis said in additional data shared with Computerworld.

“For professionals…, it is clear: Upskill in AI, data engineering, and security to stay ahead,” Mitchell said.Tech sector continues downward slide amid modest US job growth in November – ComputerworldRead More