Tech Job Losses Continue in US
Tech employment in the US continues to contract, with 92,000 jobs lost in February and the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. This makes differentiation via hands-on PM experience and cross-functional skills even more vital.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a loss of 92,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate up to 4.4%. ZipRecruiter's labor economist, Nicole Bachaud, noted this as the largest monthly job loss since 2020, excluding October's government shutdown. Downward revisions to prior months added to the concern, with December's job count revised to -17,000. The tech sector specifically lost 11,000 jobs in February, continuing a 12-month trend of approximately 5,000 job losses per month. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported 11,039 tech job cuts in February, bringing the year-to-date total to 33,330, a 51% increase compared to the same period last year. While AI is considered a factor, global regulatory concerns, tariffs impacting digital advertising, economic uncertainty, and higher employment costs also contribute. Despite the overall job losses, CompTIA's analysis of BLS data showed tech employment across all industries increased by an estimated 177,000 in February. However, employment within tech-sector companies decreased by 11,514 positions. CompTIA also found that active job listings referencing AI skills more than doubled, and hiring for dedicated AI roles increased 79% year-over-year.
