Tech Turns the Corner

Year-over-Year Change in US Tech Employment

The US tech sector has officially stopped bleeding. For the first time since August 2023, the industry has posted a year-over-year net gain in jobs. The margin is razor-thin, just +1.6k jobs above August 2024 levels, but it signals the end of the contraction cycle that defined late 2023 and all of 2024.

Here is how the recovery is distributed:

The Growth Engines: Software & Search

The rebound is entirely driven by high-margin, scalable tech products.

• Software Publishers: The undisputed heavy lifter. Employment sits at 664.2k, up ~21k year-over-year. This sector alone is carrying the industry’s positive numbers.
• Web Search & Portals: Up +4.1k year-over-year. This sector is small but punching above its weight in growth percentage.

The Anchor: Services & Consulting

• IT Services & Consulting: Both Custom Programming and Systems Design are down significantly from their 2023/2024 peaks. Companies are buying software, not the consultants to install it.

Takeaway

We have bottomed out. The "Year of Efficiency" cuts are over, replaced by a cautious, product-led stabilization. We aren't in a boom; we are in a recovery.