Toronto –
Job search firm Indeed says the number of job postings for Canadian tech jobs on its website has dropped 32 per cent since May and shows no signs of stabilizing as the industry grapples with layoffs.
Hiring across all industries slumped 9% over the summer, up slightly since September, and the drop in tech job vacancies has brought hiring in the sector closer to pre-pandemic levels than the rest of the economy in two years. first.
“We’ve gone in full overdrive from a real market where there’s such a wealth of opportunity for job seekers and very competitive for employers trying to fill those positions… to a situation where it’s a little bit cooler.” market,” said senior economist Brendon Bernard indeed.
“Employers who still want to fill these roles may have an easier time, and job seekers may not have as many options as they do.”
Bernard’s research shows that tech posts in late November remained above pandemic levels and were about 47% higher than in February 2020, when the health crisis began.
He attributed much of the easing to the shift the tech industry is going through.
The pandemic has prompted investors to pour money into tech companies that are great for remote work, video conferencing and streaming.
Valuations for companies in those areas rose sharply until people returned to offices and their old shopping habits earlier this year, sending technology stocks down and many companies in the sector slashing costs.
Companies as big as Facebook parent Meta, Ottawa e-commerce company Shopify and digital giant Microsoft have cut spending along with startups like Clearco, Hootsuite and Wealthsimple.
Layoffs.fyi, a layoff aggregation website, counts that since the beginning of 2022, 148,431 technicians have been laid off in 946 companies around the world.
When an industry is laying off workers, Bernard has noticed that many employers in that industry are not looking to hire, and job seekers are not as patient, since more of them tend to lose their jobs while they are looking for work.
“In a world of higher layoffs, that means more job seekers and employers who are still looking for jobs are more likely to fill vacancies,” he said.
Before the layoffs began, Indeed data showed overall job postings peaked in early May 74% above pre-pandemic levels. Technology job vacancies alone increased even more, more than doubling by April from February 2020 levels to 116%.
High-paying technology job types, including senior software engineer, software architect, and management roles, are up 149% from pre-pandemic levels.
It’s hard to predict whether the tech sector will maintain its pre-pandemic job growth levels or another wild ride will follow.
“The future of the industry as a whole will depend on interactions with employer needs and job applicants, and more broadly, on the health of Canadian technology companies,” Bernard said.
This Canadian Press report was first published on December 13, 2022