Unemployed Ticked Up in America's IT Sector (msn.com)
- Reference: 0183171936
- News link: https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/05/10/0441253/unemployed-ticked-up-in-americas-it-sector
- Source link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/tech-unemployment-ticks-up-to-38-in-april-amid-ai-driven-layoffs/ar-AA22JaPI
But they add that the increase reflects "an ongoing uncertainty in tech as AI continues to [2]play havoc with hiring . That's according to analysis from consulting firm Janco Associates, which bases its findings on data from the U.S. Labor Department."
> On Friday, the department said the economy [3]added 115,000 jobs , buoyed by gains in industries including retail, transportation and warehousing and healthcare. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%. But the information sector lost 13,000 jobs in April.
>
> While it's still too early to say exactly how AI is affecting employment overall, some businesses, [4]especially in the tech industry , have said it's part of the reason they're cutting staff. In April, Meta Platforms said it would lay off [5]10% of its staff , or roughly 8,000 people, as it seeks to streamline operations and pay for its own massive investments in AI. Nike will [6]reduce its workforce by roughly 1,400 workers, or about 2%, mostly in its tech department, as it simplifies global operations. And Snap is planning to eliminate [7]16% of its workforce , or about 1,000 positions, as it aims to boost efficiency. In other areas of IT, which includes telecommunications and data-processing, employment is now down 11%, or 342,000 jobs, from its most recent peak in November 2022.
>
> But there's not just AI to blame. Inflation and economic uncertainty linked to the Iran conflict is giving some chief executives and tech leaders reason to pull back or pause their IT hiring, said Janco Chief Executive Victor Janulaitis.
The article even notes that postings for software developer jobs "are up 15% year-over-year on job-search platform Indeed, according to Hannah Calhoon, its vice president of AI". But employers do seem to be looking for experienced developers, which could pose a problem for recent college graduates.
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/tech-unemployment-ticks-up-to-38-in-april-amid-ai-driven-layoffs/ar-AA22JaPI
[2] https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-week-the-dreaded-ai-jobs-wipeout-got-real-3ba5057b?eafs_enabled=false
[3] https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/april-jobs-report-unemployment-35aead9a
[4] https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/layoffs-2026-tracker-784ea69f?eafs_enabled=false
[5] https://www.wsj.com/tech/meta-will-lay-off-8-000-employees-in-may-memo-ce8b97f0
[6] https://www.wsj.com/business/nike-to-lay-off-1-400-workers-in-latest-round-of-layoffs-1e5b87d7
[7] https://www.wsj.com/business/snap-to-cut-16-of-workforce-as-it-seeks-profitability-4030b891
GIGO (Score:4, Informative)
"bases its findings on data from the U.S. Labor Department" and we have all seen just how reliable totally-not-manipulated data coming from this administration is.
"reports the Wall Street Journal." (Score:3)
Then links to MSN and not WSJ.
Headline seems extremely deceptive (Score:3)
Yes, over the last month it ticked up from 3.6% to 3.8%. It peaked at SEVEN percent at one point in 12 months. The trend is unquestionably, wildly down.
Those are both the lowest readings in 12 months. It's been hovering near 5% all year. It's been consistently over the national average.
It's not under the average, very solidly trending down all year. But the headline is a .2% increase and noise about AI.
There's downturn in progress (Score:2)
You can't attack education, non-whites, non-MAGA, all your allies, enact random tariffs, and then disrupt the world's flow of oil, all while building a kleptocracy and expect anything but a major long term downward trend.
You can no longer trust the government numbers. They're lying, and anyone who won't lie gets fired. Unemployment is probably higher than they're telling you.
I wonder how they are cooking the numbers (Score:2)
We all know they are because Trump fired all the people who calculated those numbers because he didn't like them.
I would guess that it's the classic where people who drop out of looking for IT jobs are no longer counted in IT unemployment statistics. There's probably other ugly shenanigans too. Things are so much worse out there than anyone is willing to admit.
I really hate the 90% billionaire owned corporate hellscape of the modern news media. It feels like we're living in North Korea now. That's t
meh (Score:3)
Does unemployment really mean much in a sector where they hire as many cheap offshore workers as they can to keep labor costs as low as possible?
Re: (Score:2)
Yes. What it means is, despite all that offshoring, the job market remains strong in the US for tech workers.
Software engineers typically make 50-100% more than the median US income. Other jobs like QA and Product / Project management aren't quite as high, but still above average.
I think this tech job market feels bad because we got used to the white-hot hiring spree of 2021-2022.