What’s happening in the tech market as of August 2023?

What’s happening in the tech market as of July 2023? Challenges, Changes, and the Exciting Opportunities Ahead.

You may have noticed comments this year about the tech market being tougher, with hiring freezes and articles like: “Traumatic 12 months of technology layoffs” making headlines. (TechHQ)

The market dynamic has indeed changed this year compared to 2022, with some sources saying that together, June and July of 2023 represent the two weakest monthly gains (for jobs added) in over two years in the US. (Guardian)

?So, the hiring market may be slower this year compared to other years. But it doesn’t pose as much of a problem for tech employees as the headlines might lead you to believe…

?As many things work in the world, the economy and its adverse effect on hiring trends follow a very cyclical pattern.

If we go all the way back to the first half of 2020 and to the start of Covid, the total number of vacancies for April 2020 was down 54% on their pre-pandemic average for the same month in the UK (House of Commons Library) as hiring literally stopped overnight and continued to for months (a major down-cycle).?

But...?

That then led to a build-up of demand that peaked in an almighty boom in industry in 2021, especially in technology. When restrictions began to lift, but physical contact remained taboo as most things could now be done remotely. There then grew a need that only the digital and virtual world could fill. Through this, tech giants like Amazon and Meta had gained demand for their products that they hadn’t anticipated (with Covid being as ‘unprecedented’ as it was). This led to a mass hiring boom. For measure, ‘By September of 2022, Amazon (AMZN) had more than doubled its corporate staff compared to the same month in 2019’. (CNN)

Take a look at this graph:

So, jumping back to 2023, it’s only natural that there is a slightly slower cycle this year, given the previous industry boom. ‘Booms’ can’t last forever, and as a result, we saw many tech companies have to, unfortunately, let go of employees due to excessive hiring early in the pandemic and misreading how a surge in demand for their products would cool once Covid restrictions eased.

?So, what opportunities remain in tech as of August 2023?

?Although this article has discussed chiefly the tech industry, what about other industries that rely on tech? What’s hiring like for tech roles there?

?It’s no lie that the world and, consequently, most industries are becoming digitalized to stay competitive and profitable. Despite the fluctuation in the tech industry, tech jobs in other sectors will generally remain high in demand. For measure, here are our gathered insights from various external sources to give you an understanding of what opportunities we foresee.

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• The Energy industry continues to be a hotspot of expansion. Several energy companies across France, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands have reported significant investment across August, according to our internal sources. With many of these companies specialized in renewable energy and/ or natural resources, we foresee a major growth in the energy industry for tech, With headlines like, ‘Renewable Energy Investment Hits Record-Breaking $358 Billion in 1H 2023’.( Bloomberg) Especially given the Paris agreement and every country’s greenhouse emissions goals. So, if you’re looking to get your hands on a renewable energy project this coming quarter could be your time.
• In line with Siemens Energy Global, Siemens AG is also turning its attention to sustainability. Siemens AG is set to collaborate with BayWa AG to advance CO2- optimized industrial production, with emissions offsetting as a key aim (Siemens AG, 2023). In July, Siemens AG also announced its 2 Billion (EUR) investment strategy. 1 Billion (EUR) of this will be invested into a new Technology Campus in Erlangen, Germany. This is to establish Erlangen as a global research and development hub and ‘the nucleus of global technology activities for the industrial metaverse’ (Siemens AG, 2023). The expected date of construction is yet to be announced, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears to the ground, so you don’t have to.
• The financial service industry was faced with several challenges in 2020, attributed to the Covid pandemic. From real estate to insurance to investment management to banking and capital markets, all of which are or have been successfully navigated (Deloitte, 2023) The financial service industry will continue to be presented with challenges primarily associated with the Ukraine, supply chain disruption and potential recessions across the globe. The increased demand for regulation that will inevitably come with these macroeconomic influences provides the industry with an opportunity to work towards smarter solutions, primarily thought reliance on technology. Digital transformation within the financial industry will pave the industry’s future (Deloitte, 2023). Moving forward we predict Fintech projects will have a lot to offer for the remainder of 2023 and beyond, so if the financial prospects of Fin Tech are of interest to you, we predict good things coming for their tech hiring.
• Due to rising demand from SMEs, the printer’s market is set to grow by 10.21 billion from 2021 to 2026 (TMC, 2023). – wondering what this has to do with jobs in tech? Well, you’ll be pleased to find out that there is a high demand for ERP consultants and varying forms of software engineers in this industry.
• The global electronic data management market is predicted to make a comeback following the pandemic and steady demand for cyber security (TMC, 2023) With some cyber security companies reporting record profits so far in 2023. ?

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References

(TechHQ)

https://techhq.com/2023/06/tech-layoffs-continue-2023-redundancy-technology/

(Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/04/us-economy-july-jobs-labor-market

(House of Commons Libary)

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/how-has-the-pandemic-affected-industries-and-labour-in-the-uk/#:~:text=At%20the%20start%20of%20the,fell%20by%20at%20least%2020%25 ?

(CNN Business)

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/22/tech/big-tech-pandemic-hiring-layoffs/index.html

(Deloitte)

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/technology-industry-outlook.html ?

(International Energy Agency)

https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2023/overview-and-key-findings

(Bloomberg)

https://about.bnef.com/blog/renewable-energy-investment-hits-record-breaking-358-billion-in-1h-2023/

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