As the pace of innovation accelerates and severe inflation occurs in the US economy, the technology industry has been experiencing rapid shifts that are reshaping the job market. Amid these changes, an increasing number of companies are restructuring their workforce to stay competitive.
Here, we are committed to navigating the landscape and providing timely report of the US job market from 2022 to now, shedding light on the factors driving these layoffs, and exploring on the other hand what companies and sub-industries are still hiring. We want to help you stay informed on this critical moment of technology industry.
First, we want to introduce the layoff trend from the past year and discover when the low and high of layoff happened. It turns out the highest layoff points (by employee count) occurred in mid-November 2022 and mid-January 2023.
However, the average percentages of layoff per company at these times are not quite high. This tells there were many tech companies at different scales impacted by layoff at these times instead of solely in several companies.
Sources
Layoffs.fyi
Sad news of corporates laying off employees have been spreading on social media and news platforms over the past months. Many of these companies are in fact the major tech players we are familiar with. For instance:
Below is a timeline of the other notable layoff examples within the past year.
Sources
Tech layoffs in 2023: A timeline
Corporate layoffs in 2023
During the past year, it is under the assumption that tech heavy regions such as Bay Area (CA), New York and Washington are among most numbers of companies that practice layoff. In addition, some tech rising cities such as Lehi (UT), Nashville (TN) are suffering high layoff. Many highest layoff companies within these states are in fact big post-IPO companies such as Meta (CA), Dell (TX), and Peloton (NY).
Besides, with the age reference per state, it seems states on the East coast are of higher median ages and have found more severe layoff (e.g. New Jersey, New York, Delaware). States on the West coast, however, are of lower median ages and have found more severe layoff (e.g. California, Utah, and Colorado).
(Please zoom in/out for a more granular view of average % of company laid off at city level. )
Sources
Tech Layoffs: US Companies That Cut Jobs In 2022 and 2023
(Bigger companies in our study are defined by Post-IPO Companies)
To answer this question, let’s take a look at the layoff trend in the US between post-IPO companies and pre-IPO companies.
For the graph below we could tell even though at the beginning of the layoff timeline, pre-IPO companies seem to cut more employees, the recent trend shows that post-IPO companies (big tech companies) are rapidly catching up in the number of employees they lay off.
While the topic of layoffs can be disheartening, it is important to understand that it is not the complete story. As we saw above, layoffs seem to be concentrated to be a large firms’ phenomena. Through the graphs ahead, we aim to explore what is the hiring looking like.
For February 2023, maximum openings are in the company sizes of 51 - 200, in SaaS, and for Engineers. If we focus on Tech labour specifically - Engineers, Product Managers, and Designers - SaaS and Consumer are the biggest contributor to openings.
Sources
Top Tech Startups Hiring 2023
Below are the top 5 companies hiring for each of the positions directly related to tech labor: Engineering, Product, Design.
Despite the challenges that the job market has faced due to the pandemic, there is still hope for those seeking new opportunities. As we have seen, there are industries and companies that are actively hiring and looking for talented individuals to join their teams. By focusing on SaaS and Consumer industries, tech labor such as Engineers, Product Managers, and Designers have the most opportunities. The top 5 companies hiring for each of these positions have been identified and can serve as a starting point for those looking to apply. It's important to stay optimistic and keep an eye out for these hiring trends to find the perfect fit.
To all the job seekers out there, it's important to remember that the current state of the tech job market is not all gloom and doom. Yes, there have been layoffs and restructuring, but as our analysis has shown, many companies are still actively hiring. In fact, some industries and companies are experiencing significant growth and demand for skilled workers.
As we dive deeper into the data, we can see that there are opportunities out there, particularly in the areas of software as a service (SaaS) and consumer technology. Companies of varying sizes are also hiring for a range of positions, from engineers to product managers and designers.
So don't let the fear of the current job market discourage you from pursuing your dream job in the tech industry. There are still many opportunities out there, and with the right skills and mindset, you can land a fulfilling and rewarding position in this dynamic field. Keep upskilling and networking, stay positive, and never give up on your job search. Good luck!
Attributions:
Information Visualizations:
Harris (layoff: Section 1-4); Jannie (layoff: Section 1); Shubham (hiring: Section 5)
Narrative Writing:
Harris (Cover, Section 1-4); Jannie (Section 5, Conclusion); Shubham (Section 5)
Data Research & Mining:
Harris; Jannie; Shubham
Web Design:
Jannie
Web Development & Online Presence (GitHub):
Jannie
Illustrations:
Cover Image
Conclusion Image
Sources:
Layoffs.fyi
Tech layoffs in 2023: A timeline
Corporate layoffs in 2023
Tech Layoffs: US Companies That Cut Jobs In 2022 and 2023
Technology Company Layoffs (2022-2023)
Top Tech Startups Hiring 2023
Note:
The inspiration of the cover design is from The Economist magazine. All images on this website (unless attributed) are designed by Jannie. The website is built from scratch without using code from other sources. Should you have any question about this project, please contact us at jannie_zhou@berkeley.edu