The U.S. employment market has entered a new phase. Growth has flattened across most regions, but demand for the right skills remains intense. Instead of hiring at scale, employers are now hiring more selectively. People who bring current technical capability, commercial awareness, and the ability to adapt quickly continue to be highly sought after, even as overall job numbers soften.
Technology employment has declined modestly, but context matters. Millions of people remain employed in tech companies or in tech roles across the wider economy, and competition for top performers is still fierce. Organizations are actively upgrading their workforce, viewing talent as a core source of competitive advantage rather than a cost to be minimized.
Demand is strongest in data engineering, AI, cybersecurity, network infrastructure, and business applications. At the same time, roles such as some data analysis and UX/UI positions that are more easily automated are seeing slower hiring or structural change. Across go-to-market functions, revenue is king. Sales, customer success, partnerships, and GTM strategy roles are evolving, with a clear bias toward experienced operators who can deliver outcomes in constrained conditions.
Despite ongoing market uncertainty, the U.S. economy remains fundamentally resilient, particularly in new technology and its real-world application. Investment continues to flow into AI, data centers, energy, defence, and digital infrastructure. What’s emerging is a more selective and more competitive labour market where speed, clarity, and credibility matter more than ever for both candidates and employers.
Microsoft also deserves to be explicit in this picture. A large share of enterprise demand is still driven by complex implementation and integration work across the Microsoft stack. Azure cloud foundations, data platforms, identity/security, and business applications (alongside Oracle and other ERP environments). That’s keeping the market tight for enterprise ERP consultants and architects, cloud and data engineers, and practitioners who can take AI from pilot to production inside governed, regulated environments.
San Francisco remains the epicenter of AI and deep tech innovation, with hiring concentrated around highly specialized engineering, platform, and infrastructure roles. The market strongly favours experienced talent who can scale emerging technologies into commercial reality.
Our experts interact with hiring managers and candidates daily, giving us unique, real-world insights into the latest salary and benefits trends.
San Francisco still has its own gravity. Even as the tech landscape changes, the Bay Area remains a place where new ideas get built, tested, funded, and scaled, often faster than anywhere else. Talent here is highly specialised, and expectations tend to be high on both sides of the hiring equation.
Life outside of work is a blend of city and outdoors: ocean air, weekend escapes, and a culture that values independence as much as innovation. It’s a market that continues to evolve and rarely stands still.
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