Other sectors recruiting tech workers following Big Tech layoffs 

Thousands of tech sector workers affected by recent mass layoffs at companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are being recruited by employers from hotel chains, retailers, investment firms, railroad companies, and even the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Associated Press. Those sectors have signaled on recruiting platforms that they are still hiring software engineers, data scientists, and cybersecurity specialists.

The federal government is making the most aggressive push, aiming to hire 22,000 tech workers in fiscal year 2023. Federal agencies have participated in a series of “Tech to Gov” job forums targeted in part at laid off workers, hoping to ease their own chronic labor shortages.

Federal, state, and local government tech job postings soared 48% in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same period last year, a sharp contrast to the 33% decrease in tech job openings during that period in the tech industry, and a 31.5% slowdown in such postings across the economy.

This year, there have been about 1.26 million tech postings between January and May, a level more on par with the pre-pandemic years.

To be sure, the competition for tech talent remains tight, and many companies, including tech companies, are still hiring — just more slowly. The unemployment rate for tech workers is just 2%.

Hotels and restaurants also posted slightly more tech jobs in the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year.

Hilton saw a 152% increase in applications for internships and full-time jobs from tech majors this school year, compared to the year prior.