Tech Job Market Booms in Early 2025: What You Need to Know

Dive Brief:

Despite an increase in tech job postings, unemployment in the IT sector has also risen, indicating that many technologists may have restarted their job searches for the new year. According to a CompTIA review of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• 228,000 technology occupations were added in January 2025, marking the second consecutive month of growth.
• 51,000 new job postings were created, totaling 476,000 active roles available in tech.
• IT unemployment increased to 2.9%, up from 2% the previous month, while the national unemployment rate slightly dipped to 4%.

Dive Insight:

The growing tech unemployment contrasts with a significant demand for qualified professionals, particularly in fields like AI and data science. This rise in unemployment may be due to job seekers resuming their search after a December pause without securing new positions, as noted by Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA.

IT Unemployment Trends

National unemployment rates compared to those in IT occupations show a troubling trend:

• Major tech companies like Microsoft and Salesforce have recently executed layoffs, while Google offered voluntary exit packages to some employees.
• In January 2023, over 34,000 tech jobs were cut due to economic uncertainties.

As companies gear up for ambitious tech adoption, more than 80% of IT decision-makers express concerns about talent shortages. AI and ML skills are in particularly high demand, with over 40,000 active job postings related to AI, reflecting an increase from 38,500 in December.

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