Tech Postings Are Climbing Again, but the People You Want Aren’t Looking
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Software development job postings on Indeed are up 23.8% from a year ago, and every tech category is up, according to Indeed Hiring Lab’s Q3 2026 labor market updates, published November 12. Overall postings on Indeed are up 3.1% in the year to October 23 and sit 3.7% above February 2020. The year-over-year trend turned positive for the first time in nearly 4 years.
Indeed’s hiring lab describes the tech result as somewhat unexpected, considering the concern over AI replacing workers. Tech is helping drive the overall rise. IT systems and solutions postings rose 12.3% from a year ago. All tech categories remain well below early-2020 levels, with software development 19.2% below February 2020 and data and analytics 37.6% below.
Tech pay is picking up too. Over the 3 months through September, posted wages in IT systems and solutions rose 4.7% and data and analytics rose 4.1%. Software development wage growth was 2.9%, nearly double the 1.5% from a year earlier.
Workers aren’t moving much. The quits rate in professional and business services was 2.1% in September, nearly a full percentage point below its 2019 average, and Indeed says tech workers seem content to stay where they are.
The number I’d lead with is software development, up 23.8%. We’ve spent 2 years hearing AI would wipe out developer jobs, and tech is now one of the categories pulling overall postings back into positive territory. I’d keep it in perspective, because demand is climbing out of a deep hole. Software development is still 19.2% below February 2020.
The quits data is what I’d watch if I were hiring. People are staying put, so more openings are chasing workers who are comfortable where they are, and filling those roles means going after people who aren’t looking. If you’re hiring developers or IT staff, talk to us about hiring, because reaching people who aren’t applying is the work a recruiter does every day.
Healthcare Postings Cooled, but Every Category Still Sits Above Its Pre-Pandemic Level
Indeed’s healthcare update shows a split. Over the past year, nursing postings fell 1.7%, medical technician postings fell 2.7%, and dental postings fell 13.5%. Pharmacy (+7.8%), physicians and surgeons (+6.4%), and personal care and home health (+4.0%) are still growing. Indeed says every healthcare category remains above its pre-pandemic level.
Nursing wage growth ticked up to 1.8% in September after hitting 1.0% in April and May, its slowest pace since at least 2019. The healthcare and social assistance hiring rate was 2.9% in September, down from 3.5% a year earlier. Culbertson writes that the multi-year decline remains concerning.
Healthcare is the cooler side of this picture, but cooler from a very high level. For healthcare employers, a slower hiring rate in many categories means candidates have a little more choice and you have a little more time. For nurses and techs, nursing wage growth is recovering from its low, so ask for what the market is paying now.
Manufacturing and Banking Postings Are Growing More Than 4 Times Faster Than the Overall Market
Indeed describes the business-to-business vertical’s third quarter as relatively sanguine. Production and manufacturing postings are up 14.1% from a year ago and banking and finance postings are up 13.2%, both more than 4 times the 3.1% overall rate by my math. Construction (+6.1%) and insurance (+4.9%) also beat the market, while accounting (-3.2%) and education (-8.4%) are down.
On pay, accounting leads the group at 3.7% wage growth, followed by banking and finance and construction at 3.1% each, and manufacturing at 3%. Insurance wage growth has stalled at 0%. The text puts manufacturing’s September hiring rate just below its 2019 average.
Manufacturing is the quiet story. Postings are up, wages are up 3%, and the hiring rate is back near its 2019 average, which means demand is turning into hires. If you’re an employer in manufacturing or finance, expect more competition for candidates as postings climb, and check your pay against the 3% wage growth Indeed shows. Accounting’s 3.7% wage growth alongside falling postings suggests employers there are paying more for fewer hires.
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Upwork Now Plans to Cut 37% of Its Workforce, and a $129.7 Million Acquisition Hints at Its Next Move
Upwork plans to reduce its workforce by 37%, according to a new regulatory filing reported by Staffing Industry Analysts on November 12. In May, the company announced a restructuring that cut about 24% of staff. Upwork says it found more ways to save money, and the bigger cut is meant to position the company for profitable growth as the nature of work evolves.
Upwork expects to finish the layoffs by the first quarter. The restructuring will cost an estimated $27 million to $37 million before taxes, mostly severance and other one-time costs. The article gives only percentages, so no number of people affected is available, and it does not break out how many additional people the new 37% adds.
In its most recent results, Upwork reported revenue down 8% and a narrower gross margin, though net income rose 8.4%. It also announced a $129.7 million deal to buy WorkMotion, a Berlin-based employer-of-record provider. CFO Erica Gessert steps down January 1, and Chief Business Officer Peter Sanborn takes her place.
Two details tell you where Upwork thinks the money is. Revenue is down 8%, and the company just spent $129.7 million on an employer-of-record business. An employer of record handles payroll, compliance, and employment for workers on a client’s behalf, which overlaps with part of what staffing firms do and differs from a marketplace where clients and freelancers find each other. My read is that Upwork is betting companies want someone to take on the employer responsibility, and a platform alone doesn’t do that.
The cuts themselves are steep. Going from 24% to 37% in 6 months suggests the first round didn’t get them where they needed to be. A second round often follows when revenue doesn’t recover the way the plan assumed. If you work at a platform company, the pattern to watch for is a first round of cuts, a soft earnings report, then a filing that expands the number.
More Than Half of Polymarket’s Cuts Were Contractors, and the Termination Email Ended Up on X
Polymarket, the New York-based prediction market startup, has cut jobs and ended several contractor agreements in a reorganization, Reuters reported on November 11. An internal email ending one contractor’s agreement had been circulating on X since the week before, and the company confirmed Wednesday that the screenshot was genuine. The email described a company-wide reduction in force and ended the contract effective November 4, 2026.
Polymarket declined to disclose what share of its workforce was affected. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that over 50% of the cuts were contractors. The figure comes from an unnamed source, not the company.
Polymarket once led its market and now trails rival Kalshi in monthly trading volume. Kalshi has grown through wider distribution and partnerships, including a deal for the FIFA World Cup, and raised $1 billion late last month at a $40 billion valuation. Polymarket also faces regulatory pressure, since Reuters reported last month that the CFTC is probing whether the company violated a 2022 agreement to keep U.S. users off its overseas platform.
In an emailed statement, Polymarket said it reorganized to set the company up for its next phase of growth. The statement also said the changes have meant a lot of new hires along with changes in personnel and letting some people go. The company named Warren Jenson its first CFO in September and brought on former Uber executive Travis VanderZanden as chief growth officer this year.
More than half the people cut were contractors, and that’s the detail I’d pay attention to. Contractors are the flex layer, and when a company reorganizes, that layer moves first. The setup is deliberate. It’s a big reason companies use contract talent, and it’s a trade-off contractors accept in exchange for flexibility and, usually, higher rates.
Look at the sequence, too. A new CFO, a new chief growth officer, then cuts. When new leadership arrives, headcount is one of the first things they examine, and contract roles are the easiest to change.
If you’re a contractor, know your notice terms before you need them and keep your pipeline warm even when the work feels steady. If you’re an employer, remember that the termination email you send a contractor can be on X by the end of the week. How you let people go is part of your employer brand, whether they’re on your W-2 or not. If you want a hand building a flexible team with clear terms on both sides, explore our staffing services, and if you’re a contractor looking for your next role, see what’s open right now.
