From Golden Era to Ghost Jobs: How Tech Hiring Changed in Last Five Years
From tech graduates (CS, AI, Data Science majors) having multiple offers in hand to 1000s of jobs applied and 0 interviews. So how we ended up here? You might ask, who cares how we got here? It matters because understanding the past gives us a better direction for the future. In this article we will covering 3 main eras. Golden era of tech jobs, the layoff season and the current situation. Lets dive in.
Golden Era of Tech Jobs (2020–2022)
In the early 2020s, the tech industry experienced an unprecedented hiring boom. Tech companies (FAANG and numerous startups) were on a hiring spree, recruiting talent to keep up with explosive growth. This “golden era” of tech jobs was fueled by 3 key factors:
Abundant Funding: Venture capital and soaring stock prices gave tech firms ample cash to expand. Tech companies raised billions and could afford to hire aggressively to pursue growth ambitions.
Remote Work Expansion: The COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread remote work, eliminating geographic hiring barriers. Firms could recruit globally and access a much larger talent pool, further accelerating hiring.
War for Talent: Demand for tech professionals far outpaced supply. This talent scarcity drove up salaries and perks, making tech roles even more attractive and intensifying the competition to hire top people.
Amid this boom, some companies even hired to stifle competition. In short, 2020–2022 was a time of expansion. Tech firms bet that pandemic-fueled growth would continue indefinitely. But all good things must come to an end. Enter layoff season.
The Layoff Season (2022–2023)
Job postings roughly doubled by 2022, then crashed below the pre-pandemic baseline by 2023. The pandemic hiring frenzy abruptly gave way to a wave of layoffs in late 2022 and 2023. This happened for 3 main reasons:
Pandemic-fueled growth died down: As the world adapted to a post-Covid “new normal,” the huge digital demand flattened out – growth in e-commerce, streaming, online ads, and remote services slowed. The optimistic assumption that pandemic-level growth would continue proved overly optimistic and companies found themselves overstaffed.
Cost cutting mode: Once the optimistic growth proved to be a fantasy companies switched from growth to cost cutting measures. Across 2022 and 2023, hundreds of thousands of tech workers lost their jobs. Here are some numbers.
Investor pressure: As tech stock prices sank in 2022, investors started demanding accountability. In one notable open letter, a prominent Meta investor accused the company of having “too many people”, and urged Zuckerberg to reduce headcount by at least 20% and cut other costs to restore Wall Street’s confidence.
The era of “growth at all costs” was over, and profitability and efficiency became the new mantra. By mid-2023, the layoff wave was in full force. The once sky-high demand for tech workers had not only fallen back to earth but dropped below pre-pandemic levels. This shows just how fast the power dynamic in the job market flipped in a year’s time. Now back to the present.
The Current Situation (Late 2024–2025)
By late 2024, the layoff storm started calming down. Hiring had started to stabilize. Tech companies added jobs again in late 2024 and total layoffs in 2024 were lower than in 2023. But its still tough for job seekers, with new dynamics at play. Nevertheless, the market still remains challenging for job seekers due to the following factors:
Tight Competition: The post-layoff market has far more candidates chasing each opening. The waves of layoffs in 2022–2023 flooded the market with experienced tech workers. On top of that every year universities keep churning out graduates. As a result, the ratio of job seekers to available jobs nearly doubled. Tech unemployment remains low (around 2–3%), but the glut of talent has raised the bar for landing a role, especially in popular fields like software engineering.
“Ghost” Job Postings: A frustrating trend for job hunters is the rise of so-called ghost jobs – listings for roles that companies aren’t actually in a hurry to fill (or have no intention of filling at all). According to some sources 4 in 10 companies admit to posting fake job ads. They do it to window-shop for talent, make it look like they're growing, or even just to avoid giving out raises.
AI-Driven Efficiency: The rise of automation and AI is also shaking up tech employment. Many companies are finding they can get more done with fewer people thanks to tools like generative AI. Basically, AI is making some workflows more efficient, meaning less need to hire as many developers or IT staff for certain projects. This is affecting beginner tech roles more than anyone else.
In summary, the current tech job market is in a reset period. That insane growth of 2020–2021 led to a painful correction, and now in 2024–2025, we’re seeing a more balanced outlook. Jobs are out there but job seekers have to deal with higher competition, fake listings, and a bigger focus on productivity. The last five years have been a rollercoaster, making everyone realize they need to be adaptable.
So, how can you prepare yourself for this challenging market? We will delve into the other side of the coin – the employer's perspective – and the actionable steps you can take to land a job in the upcoming articles. Subscribe to stay updated.