Software job postings still 26% below pre-pandemic levels, Indeed data shows

Indeed's job postings index for software development sat at 74.4 in its August 2026 labor market snapshot, meaning postings remain about 26% below the pre-pandemic February 2020 baseline of 100, according to Indeed Hiring Lab. The sector has climbed back from a low of 61.1 in May 2025, but the volume of open roles a developer sees today is still meaningfully thinner than before 2020.

The same report found AI-related postings now make up 6.3% of all listings Indeed tracks, nearly double the previous peak of 3.3% set in 2022. Fewer overall software postings paired with a growing AI-specific slice points to hiring concentrating around AI-tooling skills instead of a broad-based recovery.

Economy-wide, Indeed put the hiring rate at 3.4% and described a "low-hire, low-fire environment," where hiring has slowed without a matching jump in layoffs. Posted wages grew 2.5% year over year through July, trailing the 3.4% inflation figure Indeed cited for the same period, the first real-terms wage decline the index has shown since 2022.

For a developer weighing a job search or a rate conversation right now, the practical read is a market rewarding demonstrable AI-tooling experience on a resume more than general software listings, and one where nominal pay gains aren't currently outrunning inflation.