04/22/2026
The Austin tech job market isn't "down" right now. It isn't "up" either.
It's K-shaped, and if you're only reading the headlines, you're missing it.
Oracle and Expedia cut Austin roles this quarter. Nationally, nearly 80,000 tech jobs were eliminated in Q1, and almost half were tied directly to AI or automation (full breakdown linked below 👇).
Meanwhile, there are over 275,000 open U.S. roles right now that require AI skills. Senior and staff-level engineering openings are growing. Software job postings overall are down 33% from 2020, but the ones that remain are heavier on experience, not lighter.
What that means if you're hiring:
• Mid-level generalists are plentiful. The candidates you couldn't get near in 2022 are answering calls.
• Senior AI/ML, platform, and security engineers are harder to land than ever. Same few hundred people. Everyone's calling them.
• Speed and specificity win. The firms moving fast and knowing exactly who they want are filling roles in weeks. Everyone else is 90+ days in.
And if you're a tech professional in Austin, it's a market that rewards sharpening into a specialty, not broadening out.
We've been hiring in Central Texas since 1999. We've seen every version of this market. This one is different (but it's not bad), it's just bifurcated.
Hiring in Austin? Job hunting? Let's talk!
