The IT WAKANCIA market was faced with an unprecedented fall. The number of announcements on the hiring of developers decreased by 70% compared to the peak after the pandemic. According to data freed (federal reservo economic data), the vacancies in the field of software development reached 230 points in 2022, but now He collapsed to the mark 70, which reflects a sharp drop in demand for specialists.
before the pandemic, the index was at 100, and with the first news about the Covid-19 decreased to 65. However, the followed measures of economic stimulation provoked a sharp increase, which reached the maximum in 2022. This coincided with a venture financing boom and a massive appearance Starts- Unicorn . But since 2023, against the background of cooling investment activity, the number of work proposals began to decline. By the beginning of 2025, the number of vacancies fell below the February level of 2020, which indicates serious structural changes in the market.
The number of vacancies for the software developers on the Indeed platform in the USA (Fred)
One of the reasons may be the effect of overheating in 2022, when companies were massively hired by the developers, providing a personnel reserve for several years to come. However, the opinion is increasingly sounding that the main factor is the development of artificial intelligence. Automated programming systems increased the productivity of engineers, allowing one developer to perform the work of several specialists at once. This reduces the need to expand the staff and, as a result, leads to a reduction in hiring.
industry experts note that a decrease in the number of vacancies by 70% is not just a consequence of the end of the “era of cheap money”, And the result of a fundamental transformation of the role of developers. Now one good engineer with Github Copilot does the work of a whole team, which leads to a decrease in demand for traditional Middle level developers. This is confirmed by record revenue for one employee in Microsoft.
The main changes:
- The disappearance of Junior developers. Now engineers are the creators of the product who write the code, and not just solve narrow problems.
- salaries of salaries in the elite. Top engineers go into advanced technologies: AI in Openai, rockets in SpaceX, autopilot in Tesla.
- boom of solo developers. Strong engineers become single entrepreneurs, creating whole products alone.
By 2025, the concept of “developer” will no longer mean the same as in 2020. The average level disappears, either the elite or independent creators remain.