Mixed messages on jobs end the year, but picture has some researchers unsettled

November was a tough month for tech jobs, as hiring slowed and employers shed staff.

Unemployment in tech rose to 4%, although it stayed below the national rate of 4.6%. Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA, told IT Brew the numbers reflect what he’s seen.

“A number of companies have announced layoffs,” Herbert said. “What we’re hearing anecdotally from job seekers, it’s a tougher hiring environment; what we’re hearing from CIOs and the C-suite is that there’s so much uncertainty, they’re putting a lot of hiring plans on hold.”

Number time. According to CompTIA’s latest monthly analysis of Bureau and Labor Statistics numbers, the tech industry lost 6,878 positions out of around 5.3 million workers employed in the sector. Overall tech occupation employment—including positions not in the industry proper—fell by 134,000 positions out of around 6.6 million workers, and postings were down year over year.

This month’s BLS labor report was the first one in two months. The federal government has irregularly provided jobs data due to the recent shutdown and other factors, but parts of the economic picture for IT pros have still been available thanks to groups that are keeping an eye on trends.

Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)’s November US Pulse survey, released in early December, suggests that the IT industry is suffering from the same headwinds as the overall economy. SIA senior research analyst Amy Horvat told IT Brew that the firm saw a decline in IT staffingy.

“We’re seeing steady stabilization, and expecting that that’s going to turn to slight growth as we move into 2026,” Horvat said.

Changes. SIA found that median IT temporary staffing revenue growth increased by 3% YoY in October, while 24% of IT staffing firms saw positive revenue growth. The economy’s general downturn over the past two years has impacted hiring, especially in the first half of the year.

Given those economic headwinds, anyone applying for a job in IT needs to be as specific as possible about what they’re bringing to a potential employer, Horvat said.

“Anything related to cybersecurity, automation, specific financial planning software, anything that’s data management, data systems—the more specific you can be in terms of what platforms you’re specialized in, what software you can program in or use to achieve these goals, the better and more attractive that you’ll look to the job market,” Horvat said.

And keep your skills up-to-date, Herbert said. That’s the key to ensuring you’re in a good position to quickly find a new job if the need arises.

“If you are in the market right now, there’s no way to sugarcoat it—it’s a tougher hiring environment than what we’ve seen for much of this year,” Herbert said. “But some of the same best practices apply, employers, they want to see experience, but they also want to see skills development.”