The Tech Hiring Freeze That Never Ended

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In this issue:

• Why tech hiring hasn’t bounced back in 2025

• The illusion of open roles

• Where demand still exists (and where it doesn’t)

• Actionable takeaways for job seekers, recruiters, and founders

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The Tech Hiring Freeze That Never Ended

It’s August 2025. AI has taken over the headlines, interest rates are slowly creeping down, GDP is growing again, and yet...the tech job market is still frozen.

Let’s call it what it is.

Despite the cheerleading from macroeconomic pundits and the selective recovery in other industries, the U.S. tech labor market is stuck in neutral. And for most tech folks (engineers, designers, product managers, analysts) this is now the longest cold streak since 2000 and 2008/09.

What we’re seeing on the ground

There are fewer jobs, slower pipelines, and more hoops to jump through. Even when roles are open, they aren’t always real. It looks something like this:

• A role opens, but it's a backfill, not a growth hire

• Teams are interviewing, but no budget has been approved

• They open a role publicly but are prioritizing internal candidates first

• Candidates get to the final round, then hear the role is "on pause"

• Jobs stay posted for 60+ days, unchanged

This is what I call the "phantom hiring market."

The openings are real on paper. But behind the scenes? Hiring managers are nervous. Budgets are tight. Headcount is political. And in many cases, roles are only being posted to comply with internal HR policies.

Why it hasn’t recovered