Tech layoffs rose again in January after months of declines, according to a crowdsourced analysis by levels.fyi.
As you can see from the following chart, layoffs were last this high in the first quarter of 2023, when many of the nation’s biggest tech companies, including Google and Amazon, slashed huge numbers of staff. Some of those tech giants have unleashed new rounds of layoffs in recent weeks, although the cuts aren’t quite as deep as last year.
Although crowdsourcing isn’t the most scientific means of determining things, levels.fyi’s numbers are good for determining broader layoff trends. Companies that made some of the deepest cutbacks in January included:
- SAP (8,000 layoffs)
- PayPal (2,500 layoffs)
- Block (1,000 layoffs)
- eBay (1,000 layoffs)
- Citrix (1,000 layoffs)
- Google (1,000 layoffs)
- Salesforce (700 layoffs)
- Microsoft (1,900 layoffs)
- Riot Games (530 layoffs)
- Discord (170 layoffs)
But according to a new analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by CompTIA, the tech unemployment rate remained steady at 2.3 percent in January. “This month’s data is a helpful reminder of the many moving parts in assessing tech workforce gains or losses,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA, wrote in a statement accompanying the data. “The expansive tech workforce will simultaneously experience gains and losses reflecting employer short-term and longer-term staffing needs.”
In other words, despite the high-profile layoffs, companies across various industries continue to hire tech professionals—especially if they have specialized skills. For example, between December and January, the number of postings for jobs requiring artificial intelligence (A.I.) mastery or A.I.-related skills rose by 2,000, hitting 17,479. Adopting these skills can help you land a new gig—or strengthen your position at your current one.
