The tech sector has been hit with a wave of layoffs, but it’s not all bad news, especially for the workers being laid off.
Mass layoffs have become an almost daily occurrence. Over the course of 2022, the tech sector saw a whopping 241,176 layoffs. As big as that figure may be, 2023 has already seen an additional 131,132 layoffs at the time of writing (via TrueUp). Almost no portion of the tech sector is immune, with companies large and small letting workers go.
While being laid off can be a traumatic experience, the picture is not entirely doom and gloom. In fact, being laid off may be the best thing to happen to some people.
Revelio Labs looked at the state of the industry, as reported by Business Insider, and found that 75% of laid-off tech workers can expect to find a new job within three months. In fact, while tech workers are almost always in demand, Revelio Labs found that is especially true in the current climate. In contrast, 71% could expect to find a job within three months in January 2022 and only 67% in July 2021.
Perhaps most telling, Revelio Labs found that 52% of laid-off tech workers were finding jobs that paid more than the job they lost. There is such a demand for tech workers that Insider reports many employers are forced to offer a 7% premium over what their existing employees are being paid in order to attract new talent.
“The key takeaway is ‘do not despair,’” says Reyhan Ayas, a senior economist at Revelio Labs. “The job market is still hot. Although some parts of the tech industry are struggling, other companies are actively hiring.”