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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThere is no clear evidence that U.S. technology jobs as a whole are declining. The latest figures point to a mixed picture: some technology hiring measures can fluctuate month to month, workers report greater difficulty changing jobs, and prices are still rising. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects growth in computer and mathematical occupations through 2035. The available data do not show that inflation caused technology layoffs.
What the latest data says about tech jobs
The answer depends on what “tech jobs” means and which measure is being used. A layoff announcement is not the same as a fall in payroll employment; an open job posting is not a completed hire. And employment in the technology industry is not the same thing as employment in technology occupations, which exist across many industries.
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The BLS’s 2025–35 projections, released August 27, 2026, forecast 7.3% growth in computer and mathematical occupations over the decade. Within that group, data scientist employment is projected to grow 34.6%. These are long-range projections, not a promise that every role, region, or job seeker will see growth, and they do not describe hiring conditions in a particular month.
Monthly indicators offer a different, shorter-term view. CompTIA’s August 2026 technology jobs report includes employment and job-posting measures, but cautions that some technology categories are not available monthly, its measure is a proxy, monthly data are volatile, and revisions may occur. Those figures can help indicate direction; they should not be treated as a complete or definitive count of technology hiring.
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Why layoffs, openings, hires, and projections can point in different directions
Each measure answers a different question. Read them together, but do not substitute one for another.
| Measure | What it tells you | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Layoffs and discharges | Separations recorded during a period. The BLS reported 1.6 million in the entire U.S. economy in August 2026. | That number is not a technology-industry layoff count, nor does it show by itself whether total employment fell. |
| Job openings | Positions employers report as open. The BLS counted 7.1 million across the U.S. economy in August 2026. | An opening is not necessarily a technology role, a new position, or a completed hire. |
| Hires | People added to payrolls during the period. The BLS counted 5.2 million hires across the U.S. economy in August 2026. | This is not a technology-only figure and cannot be compared directly with a posting count to infer how many tech openings were filled. |
| Occupational projections | The BLS’s estimate of long-term employment change by occupation: 7.3% projected growth for computer and mathematical occupations from 2025 to 2035. | A projection is not a current vacancy count or a guarantee of short-term growth for every role. |
| Technology job postings | A time-sensitive signal of advertised demand in the categories included by the reporting source. CompTIA’s August 2026 report cautions that the monthly measure is a proxy and may be volatile or revised. | Postings alone do not establish how many people were hired, how many listings are duplicated or persistent, or whether employment rose. |
The BLS’s August 2026 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) figures are economy-wide. They should not be described as technology-sector numbers. Likewise, BLS occupation projections cover jobs across industries, not only workers employed by technology companies.
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Are rising costs causing technology layoffs?
The latest cited consumer-price data document ongoing cost pressure, but do not establish a cause for job cuts. The BLS reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 3.4% over the 12 months ending August 2026; the energy index rose 16.3% over the same period. These are national price changes, not measures of technology-company expenses or employment decisions.
It is reasonable to ask whether higher costs affect companies’ budgets or workers’ financial security, but the figures above do not show that inflation caused technology layoffs. Establishing that link would require evidence about employer decisions and the reasons for changes in technology employment.
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What workers are experiencing beyond the headline numbers
The Federal Reserve Board’s May 2026 Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 described labor-market indicators as generally solid while also noting challenges for some workers and job seekers. Its survey found a small increase in layoffs, fewer voluntary quits and job changes, and more young adults reporting that they could not find work. This is broad worker-experience context, not a technology-industry layoff tally.
Fewer quits and job changes can make a market feel harder to enter or move through even when overall employment indicators remain solid: fewer people leaving roles may mean fewer openings created by turnover. That is a way to interpret the survey’s combination of findings, not a technology-specific measurement.
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Does AI explain the decline in tech jobs?
The available figures do not establish that AI is causing a sector-wide decline. The Federal Reserve’s 2026 report found that one in four workers had used generative AI at work in the prior month in 2025. That is an adoption statistic; it does not count jobs replaced, layoffs caused by AI, or technology roles eliminated.
The BLS says its employment projections incorporate multiple influences and cannot isolate the effect of a single technology: “The BLS projections reflect the impact of all factors and cannot be used to isolate the impact of a single factor or technology.” Technology can affect both industry employment and how occupations are staffed, but attributing a specific change to AI requires evidence beyond adoption or projections.
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How to read the numbers if you are looking for work
Use broad forecasts to understand longer-term occupational direction, and current postings and hiring information to judge near-term conditions. Neither can predict an individual outcome. A practical check is to look for evidence that matches the decision you need to make:
Quick Recap
- Choosing a career path: Compare the relevant occupation’s long-term outlook with the skills and roles employers are advertising in your target location.
- Assessing a particular role: Distinguish job postings from hires, and look for repeated, current listings rather than assuming every posting represents a new, active vacancy.
- Evaluating layoff claims: Check whether a figure covers announced cuts, actual separations, payroll employment, a technology company, or the whole economy.
- Deciding whether to earn a credential: CompTIA’s January 2025 job-seeker survey found that respondents ranked earning an industry-recognized technical certification as their top technology-career strategy. That survey does not prove a credential is necessary or that it causes hiring success; weigh the certification against the requirements of the roles you want.
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