Hiring trends for careers in data science, AI, and engineering in U.S. tech hubs
At Insight, we analyze thousands of job posts and track industry trends on a weekly basis, in order to assess if they are a good fit for our Fellows across various programs. We have collected extensive information over the last six months on roles in Data Science, Health Data Science, Machine Learning, DevOps, Data Engineering, Consensus Engineering, Security Engineering, and non-tech roles (everything else) in the U.S.
With unemployment at its highest in years, one might expect a decrease in hiring throughout the country. While that is true for some industries, data and engineering seem to be recovering to a similar level of open positions as before COVID-19 and, in some regions, even surpassing previous levels.
Below is an overview of some of the major tech hubs in the country.
San Francisco/Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area has always been a prominent contributor to the total number of tech roles in the country, and this trend continues even during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is always some fluctuation in hiring from week to week, but as we look at data from the past two months (February 1 — March 31), the number of open tech roles took a temporary dive: the week of February 10 had over 600 open positions, while the week of February 20 had just over 400 positions (week of the S&P crash).
A second dip occurred in early March with an order for residents to shelter in place. But the hiring market for tech careers has since bounced back and surpassed hiring levels from before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost 800 positions were posted just last week (March 23–27, 2020).
Other major tech hubs across the U.S.
Much like the Bay Area, other tech hubs in the country have followed a similar pattern, reducing most significantly around February 20, 2020. Since then, most of the hiring markets that are heavy in tech roles are recovering, increasing to levels closer to what they saw before the crisis. As one of the first hotspots of COVID-19 in the U.S., Seattle experienced a decrease in hiring in tech roles two weeks before the rest of the country. The number of open positions is improving, but at a slower pace.
Tech careers vs. other industries
During a regular week, the trends for open positions in tech vs. careers in other industries (i.e. hospitality, finance, healthcare, etc.) follow a similar pattern. However, the data from the past two months suggests that while both groups saw a reduction in open positions around February 20, the hiring market for tech roles has recovered more quickly than other industries in the U.S., and the overall hiring trend for data roles continues to improve (albeit just slightly).
What kinds of industries in the tech world are thriving?
In the past weeks, we have seen that some industries are being hit harder than others. There have been waves of layoffs in hospitality, real estate, property, and the oil and gas industry. On the other hand, larger tech companies in the delivery industry, such as online shopping, food delivery, and grocery delivery, need a significant influx of talent for both tech and other roles.
Looking ahead
While the job postings across the U.S. are dropping overall, many companies are still actively hiring. Despite some initial dips, the hiring market for data-driven roles seems to have quickly returned to normal levels, with growing numbers of new job posts in the past few weeks. While there is no crystal ball to predict the future, we believe the above warrants some cautious optimism for hiring in tech.
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