After the coronavirus hit in 2020, forcing employees and students to work from home and social gatherings to move online, demand for tech products skyrocketed. From computers to streaming services, the industry has exploded. Sales of laptops and desktops, for example, totaled 348.8 million in 2020, an increase of almost 15% from 2019. This is the highest number of sales since 2014.
To keep up with the growth, tech companies hired new workers.
Then the pandemic lessened its grip and tech companies found themselves with another set of problems: inflation, higher interest rates and fears of a recession, among others. The layoffs have started.
Facebook’s parent company Meta, for example, laid off more than 10,000 workers in November 2022.
And as stock prices fell, the tech giants assured shareholders they were taking steps to correct the imbalance.
Stacker used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify 10 tech industries, then ranked the seven with the most job losses from December 2022 to March 2023, the most recent data available across the 10 industries. The other three technology industries (computer and software wholesalers, nanotechnology and biotechnology) either recorded job gains or little change during this period. Employment data are seasonally adjusted.
Tech jobs are mostly in the information sector, which lost about 24,000 jobs from December 2022 to April 2023, mostly in January and February. Preliminary estimates show that layoffs in the sector slowed in March and April but remain well above 2022 levels. Some technology industries are outside the information sector, notably in professional services sectors and trading, manufacturing and wholesaling.
