October 2024 Jobs Report
Methodology
To present the insights in this report, Dice used job posting data provided by Dice’s partner, Lightcast, which has a database of more than 1 billion current and historical job postings worldwide. Dice pulled data on October 11, 2024 and analyzed over 7 million tech job postings in the U.S. to gather our specific dataset, which we then filtered for “Information Technology” jobs that fall under “Full Time,” “Part Time” and “Flexible Hours.” We gathered the list of top employers in the “Industry Analysis” section by using the above criteria, with an additional filter for job postings that only derive from employer sites. The information in this report is a snapshot of tech job posting data as of October 11, 2024, and backward revisions to prior month’s data may occur from the sources used in this report.
How are Tech Jobs Faring in the Hiring Market?
October began with an exciting boost of economic optimism for the tech sector and the broader economy, thanks to positive signs in formerly struggling verticals. The federal jobs report came out much stronger than expected, following an aggressive federal interest rate cut earlier in the month. Meanwhile, tech unemployment dropped from 3.4% to 2.5% between August and September, while tech jobs on the market increased by 4.6% month over month (compared to September of last year, there were 19.3% more tech jobs available).
While AI wasn’t solely responsible for the renewed fortunes of the tech sector, AI job postings have increased 97% over the past year, shooting up 19% between August and September alone. While companies seemingly have a boundless hunger for AI talent, it’s important for recruiters and hiring managers to keep in mind that the supply of this talent isn’t limitless, and that continuing growth will lead to more competitive hiring timelines and compensation expectations.
Where are Tech Job Postings Concentrated?
The top industries hiring for tech professionals right now are consulting, software, and finance; all three had the highest volume of tech job openings in September. Companies in industries such as telecommunications and energy increased their hiring the most. Meanwhile, government-related tech hiring rose 516% between August and September.
California, Texas, Virginia, New York, and Florida were the top five states hiring tech professionals in September. Massachusetts saw the most month-over-month growth of 14%, while Washington saw the most year-over-year growth of 72%.
The number one metro area hiring tech professionals was Washington D.C., followed by New York City, Dallas, Boston, and Atlanta. Washington D.C. and the surrounding area have long benefitted from a combination of federal and private-sector tech hiring; for example, a cybersecurity professional might have their pick of local jobs at Amazon or a defense contractor. Boston saw the most growth of all other metro areas, with an increase of 14% month-over-month, while Seattle’s job postings skyrocketed 63% year-over-year.
Who Are Companies Hiring Right Now?
Software engineers, IT specialists, electrical engineers, business analysts, and network engineers were the most common job titles seen in job postings in September. The roles enjoying the most rapid growth were Artificial Intelligence Managers, Operations Research Analysts, IT Specialists, Salesforce Technical Architects and C# .NET Developers. While most of these roles didn't make the top 10 most common roles in job postings, all of them saw growth over 300% compared to August.
Some interesting AI and data science-related skills popped up in the data, with notable increases in mentions for skills in probability and mathematical modeling. The number-one skill for growth compared to September of last year was generative AI, at 318%, which is understandable when you consider all the companies integrating the technology into a wide variety of workflows, from customer service to QA. Also significant compared to last year were large language modeling and SAP S/4HANA, both of which are critical to many large enterprises’ tech stacks.