The IT jobs market is looking ropey as AI chaos, inflation and geopolitical jitters spook tech bosses.
IT sector unemployment “increased to 3.8 per cent in April from 3.6 per cent in March,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The paper said the rise reflected “an ongoing uncertainty in tech as AI continues to play havoc with hiring.”
The data comes from consulting firm Janco Associates, which based its findings on data from the US Labour Department. The department said the US economy added 115,000 jobs, helped by gains in retail, transportation, warehousing and healthcare. The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 per cent.
However, the information sector shed 13,000 jobs in April. It is still too early to say exactly how AI is affecting employment overall. Some businesses, especially in tech, have said it is part of the reason they are cutting staff.
In April, Meta Platforms said it would lay off 10 per cent of its staff, or roughly 8,000 people. The company said it wanted to streamline operations and pay for its own massive AI investments.
Nike will cut roughly 1,400 workers, or about two per cent of its workforce, mostly from its tech department. The trainer maker said it was “simplifying global operations”, which could mean anything.
Snap is planning to eliminate 16 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,000 jobs, as it tries to boost efficiency.
In other areas of IT, including telecommunications and data processing, employment is now down 11 per cent from its most recent peak. That amounts to 342,000 fewer jobs since November 2022.
AI is not the only thing getting the blame. Janco chief executive Victor Janulaitis said inflation and economic uncertainty linked to the Iran conflict were giving some chief executives and tech leaders reasons to pause IT hiring.
Software developer job postings are up 15 per cent year-over-year on the job-search platform. That suggests employers still want coders, just not college graduates trying to get a foot in the door.
