Good morning!
While many employers are understandably slowing down on hiring, there's one job category for which companies may want to keep the doors open: tech. Recent research from HR and recruiting platform iCIMS finds that there’s been a surplus of applicants across industries for technical roles. The insights underscore that for employers seeking tech talent, now is the time to pounce.
As of February 2023, iCIMS observed that open tech roles received about 20 more applicants per opening than non-technical roles. Companies that might have had trouble attracting tech talent just two years ago, now have a plethora of applications to sift through. And the candidate pool is increasingly diverse. The percentage of STEM job applicants who identify as women has continued to rise steadily since 2019, according to the firm.
Some attribute the overall increase in tech applicants to be due, in part, to major job cuts within Big Tech.
“Some of technology's behemoths have experienced mass layoffs in recent months, which may explain why applications to tech-related jobs are up more than 50% since the start of the year,” says Al Smith, chief technology officer at iCIMS. Employers are currently seeing an average of 24 applications per job opening for tech roles, he told Fortune.
Smith says the pandemic placed a spotlight on tech job openings and tech skills as more companies leaned into digital transformation efforts. The extra publicity appears to finally be paying off among applicants who are pivoting their careers toward a more technical path. And many appear to be undeterred by the layoffs in the tech industry.
“As tech hiring declines, people applying to tech roles are instead turning to complex, high-growth industries like finance and health care where they can best put their tech skills to use, build products and software and solve problems at other companies,” says Smith.
Despite headlines signaling increased layoffs, the job market remains strong. iCIMS research finds that the number of job openings listed online remains stable and application activity has grown by 26% since January 2022.
“Job cuts may be rising for some companies, but others are still actively hiring workers to fill open positions and expand their talent pipeline,” he tells Fortune.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton
