Technology employment shrank by as many as 16,000 jobs in May 2024 — no turnaround yet.
While employment in the overall US economy is growing, the technology sector is still lagging. Technology employment may have shrunk by as many as 16,000 jobs in May 2024.
The May 2024 US Jobs Report continued a disappointing pattern for the technology sector. Even as the broader labor market showed resilience, tech employment moved in the wrong direction. Fraction estimates a net loss of up to 16,000 technology jobs for the month, with the damage concentrated in temporary and contract roles.
The headline number is heavily influenced by temporary professional services — a category that includes many technology contractors and project-based workers. When that segment contracts, the tech employment picture looks far worse than the permanent-hire data alone would suggest.
Fraction monitors five technology subsectors each month using Table B-1 of the BLS Employment Situation report: telecommunications; hosting and cloud infrastructure; web portals and information sites; computer software and consulting; and temporary professional services. The five-sector view captures both permanent and contingent tech employment.
Breaking down the five subsectors Fraction tracks reveals a mixed picture, with losses concentrated in temporary work and telecommunications.
| Subsector | Monthly change | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary professional services | −16,600 jobs | Continued contraction |
| Telecommunications | −2,600 jobs | Long-term structural decline |
| Web portals + information sites | −200 jobs | Essentially flat |
| Hosting + cloud infrastructure | +1,300 jobs | Modest growth |
| Computer software + consulting | +2,400 jobs | Potential early recovery signal |
Telecommunications employment fell by 2,600, continuing a long-term structural decline for that industry. This is not a cyclical dip — it reflects ongoing secular contraction as legacy telecom infrastructure and headcount give way to software-defined alternatives.
Hosting and cloud infrastructure employment grew by 1,300. This category covers computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services (Table B-1 of the jobs report). The growth reflects continued enterprise investment in cloud capacity despite the broader tech hiring slowdown.
Web portals and information sites employment was almost flat at −200. This category covers web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services in Table B-1. The segment has been range-bound for several months.
Computer software and consulting employment grew by 2,400 — prompting the question of whether this could be the beginning of a turnaround. This covers computer systems design and related services in Table B-1. While 2,400 jobs is a modest number, it represents one of the more encouraging signals in months.
Temporary professional services employment fell by 16,600. Many of these employees work in technology-related roles, underscoring the impact of contract-employment reductions across the sector. This category, under Professional and Business Services in Table B-1, has been the primary drag on tech employment totals throughout 2023 and 2024.
Fraction places US-based senior engineers, designers, and growth marketers on a fractional basis — with a 7-day risk-free trial and no long-term lock-in.
Book an Intro CallStart building with Fraction in as little as one week.
Indeed.com tracks job posting levels across sectors, with their data indexed to February 2020. The index provides a forward-looking complement to the lagging BLS employment data.
Indeed’s tech job postings index was relatively flat from April to May 2024, following a rapid decline from the highs of early 2022. At an index level of 69, job posting levels are 31% below February 2020 levels. This means that even before the pandemic hiring surge and subsequent correction, demand for tech talent — as measured by open postings — remains depressed.
The flat trajectory from April to May offers little comfort. A stabilization at 69 is not a recovery — it simply means the freefall from the 2022 peak has paused. Until the index begins a sustained move back toward 100, the data signals a labor market that is still absorbing the consequences of the 2022–2023 tech contraction.
The long-term view of technology employment, compiled by Fraction from BLS data, tells a clear story: the sector peaked in 2022 and has been declining since. As of May 2024, there is no rebound visible in the data.
Technology employment grew rapidly through 2020 and 2021, accelerated further in early 2022, and then entered a prolonged contraction. The May 2024 data shows that contraction continuing, with the slow decline trend not yet reversed. The sector has not returned to the pace of job creation that characterized the pre-pandemic period, let alone the pandemic-era hiring boom.
For companies still hiring in this environment, the available talent pool is meaningfully larger than it was two years ago. Senior engineers, designers, and product leaders who were not on the market in 2022 are now actively seeking roles — including fractional and project-based engagements.
Technology employment may have shrunk by as many as 16,000 jobs in May 2024. The bulk of these losses came from temporary professional services, where employment fell by 16,600 — a category that includes many technology-related contract roles.
Hosting and cloud infrastructure employment grew by 1,300, and computer software and consulting employment grew by 2,400. These were the two bright spots in an otherwise weak month for tech employment.
Telecommunications employment fell by 2,600 in May 2024, continuing a long-term structural decline for that industry. This reflects ongoing secular contraction rather than a cyclical dip.
Indeed’s tech job postings index was at a level of 69 in May 2024, meaning postings were 31% below February 2020 levels. Postings were relatively flat from April to May after experiencing a rapid decline from the highs of early 2022.
Not yet. While computer software and consulting added 2,400 jobs — prompting the question of whether a turnaround is beginning — the broader data shows technology employment still declining after peaking in 2022. The long-term BLS trend shows no clear rebound signal as of May 2024.
Fraction monitors five subsectors each month using the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report: telecommunications; hosting and cloud infrastructure; web portals and information sites; computer software and consulting; and temporary professional services. These subsectors are drawn from Table B-1 of the BLS monthly employment situation report.
Praveen Ghanta is a five-time founder and serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of DevHawk.ai, an AI-powered engineering management platform, and Fraction.work, which connects fast-growing companies with top fractional tech and growth marketing talent. Previously, he founded HiddenLevers, a risk analytics platform for wealth management that he bootstrapped from inception to acquisition by Orion Advisor Solutions in 2021, serving thousands of advisors and $600B in assets. He earlier founded SmartWorkGroups, acquired by Intralinks in 2000.
Connect on LinkedIn →Describe your software or AI project. Get a full scope with story-point pricing, sprint estimates, and a downloadable plan in minutes. No calls, no waiting.
Scope Your Project for FreeWorking on a data strategy? Talk to a Fraction CTO. → Book an intro call
