by Tech job postings have dropped by nearly 40 percent over the past month. Job postings in tech are down hard across the country, dropping more than 20 percent. The number of job openings for software engineers has dropped by more than 33 percent over the past five years.
Post-pandemic hiring boom may be coming to an end, with both job openings and job growth slowing in recent months. From Amazon to Meta, all major tech companies are reporting reductions in their workforces. After massive waves of tech layoffs, employees may have thought their jobs were a little safer. That might not be the case.
With 48 percent of employers saying they prioritize retraining their existing teams instead of hiring new staff, this trend does not appear to be changing.
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Why Are Tech Companies Removing Job Postings in USA?
The year 2025 is marking a turning point in the tech job market. For years, technology companies led job creation, opening thousands of positions and competing for the best global talent. This was made possible by the exponential growth these companies experienced. However, that boom has taken a turn.
Now, many of these companies are removing open job postings without prior notice, limiting new hires and reassessing their internal structures. This transformation is rooted in automation and, more specifically, in the advancement of artificial intelligence. In large companies like Salesforce, executives have openly admitted that thanks to AI, their software engineers are now much more productive than before.
This gain in efficiency has reduced the pressure to expand teams, as smaller groups can now maintain or even surpass the same level of output as in previous years. Artificial intelligence tools are becoming more common in the workplace, as employers aim to increase productivity.
Amazon was one of the first to set this trend, implementing an abrupt hiring freeze in several units, initially planned through January 2023 but later extended to the present day. The e-commerce giant has been particularly active in eliminating job postings, while simultaneously cutting existing positions in its prime video division.
Meta, facing a drop in revenue despite a workforce that had grown to 87,000 employees, implemented one of the most extensive hiring freezes. In addition, the company began reducing middle management levels and announced plans to cut 5% of its staff, specifically targeting those considered low performers. The practice of stack ranking employees might be making a comeback in Silicon Valley.
Microsoft has followed this trend, considering significant reductions in managerial roles and non-programming-related positions, while also removing corresponding job openings. In it gaming division alone, the company has already eliminated 1,900 jobs.
The disappearance of job openings at major tech firms goes beyond routine hiring adjustments. Listings are literally vanishing from job platforms as companies re-evaluate their talent needs. LinkedIn data illustrates the severity of this trend. Hiring in IT roles has fallen by 27%. Quality assurance positions have plummeted by 32%. And roles in engineering, once considered recession-proof, have declined by 26%.
Paradoxically, these staffing reductions are occurring despite record financial performance. A week of blockbuster earnings reports from big tech culminated with Amazon crushing forecasts of just how much money it would rake in. Microsoft carried out layoffs just days before reporting a 17.6% increase in revenue, reaching $62 billion, while Amazon laid off 1,000 employees despite announcing a 14% revenue increase, totaling $170 billion.
This has had a direct impact on tech job availability. Despite more than 470,000 open positions in the sector, which might seem like a positive sign, the broader context is less encouraging. At the same time, the unemployment rate in tech rose to 2.9%. A significant jump from 2% the previous month. This increase reveals a mismatch.
There are job openings, but not always aligned with the available talent pool. The specialization required in new roles is excluding many workers who were highly valued until recently.
Moreover, the sustained decline in certain positions is notable. For instance, the number of job openings for software engineers has dropped by more than 33% over the past five years. Today, 60% of technology managers in the United States are hiring specifically for AI-related roles, up from 35% in 2024.
So there’s about a 500% increase in the number of jobs that mention generative AI. There’s about a 6,000% increase in the demand for job seekers for these jobs. This reorganization is also reflected in hiring models.
An increasing number of companies are replacing full-time roles with flexible or project-based contracts. According to recent reports, 28% of tech leaders in the country now prioritize hiring contractors. This not only reduces fixed costs, but also enables companies to adapt more quickly to uncertain economic cycles.
At the same time, internal training is gaining importance. 48% of tech organizations have begun to prioritize skill development within their existing teams instead of seeking external talent. Some owners are slowly now pulling back on hiring. Job creation plans have slowed over the last year as optimism wanes and owners await this potential recession.
Another notable change is the adjustment in hiring requirements. To address the shortage of certain profiles and speed up selection processes, 56% of hiring managers are loosening traditional requirements, such as years of experience or specific university degrees.
This does not mean that talent quality is being sacrificed, but rather that companies are beginning to value learning capacity and adaptability more than formal credentials. Despite everything, the tech sector is not in decline. In fact, projections for the next decade are optimistic.
The total number of tech jobs in the United States is expected to grow from 6 million to 7.1 million by 2034. This phenomenon is also being driven by macroeconomic factors. Investor pressure to improve profit margins after years of aggressive expansion has led many companies to reduce fixed costs.
At the same time, global economic uncertainty and international competition are forcing U.S. companies to do more with less. And that inevitably begins with workforce reductions. As uncertainty around the new economic policies continue, like tariffs, they have created massive uncertainty, volatility among the markets as of late.
The elimination of open job postings in the U.S. tech sector in 2025 cannot be understood solely as a strategy of business maturity. For thousands of workers, this trend represents a deterioration disguised as efficiency. Instead of maintaining a commitment to shared growth, companies are cutting staff and slowing hiring, despite continuing to post record profits.
Under the banner of sustainability, what is often hidden is a prioritization of financial margins over labor well-being. As major tech companies streamline their structures and cut away the excess, thousands of workers are being left out of the system. Despite some low unemployment numbers and tons of job openings, many tech workers are continuing to struggle to find work.
Opportunities have not vanished entirely, but they have become more technical and less accessible. What we are witnessing is not a natural evolution of tech employment, but a transformation that demands critical attention. If left unchallenged, it will end up concentrating the benefits of progress in the hands of a few, leaving behind those who supported this industry for years.
