Hired’s 2023 State of Tech Salaries

The Tech Hiring Tightrope: Balancing the Skills & Shifts in Talent

Get detailed insights to adapt and keep moving forward in today's hiring market

Introduction from Hired’s CEO

Can you feel it? The tension is everywhere. It’s in the behavioral and survey data. It’s on social media. It’s in the misalignment between recruiter and job candidate expectations. Tech hiring has changed dramatically from 2022 to 2023.

We witnessed impacts from layoffs, hiring freezes, inflation, and the explosion of generative artificial intelligence (AI). We saw a turnabout from “work from anywhere” policies to “we’re going back to the office and this time we mean it.” As a result, we’ve seen significant shifts in the markets tech employers target and the candidates’ expectations in them.

So, how are we to balance all of these factors, especially those in direct opposition to one another or threatening another steep fall?

Here’s what we do – we learn from it. We’re already seeing signs of tech hiring picking up again. So we do what the tech industry does best – adapt and keep moving forward. We’re here to give you the pulse on up-to-date skills, salaries, benefit preferences, and market insights so you’re ahead of the curve. This guidance and support is here to help you plan and to hire the best technology team in any market environment.

Josh Brenner
CEO of Hired

Key Takeaway #1
US tech salaries have experienced the biggest year-over-year decline in the past five years. Workers are grappling with this change in the face of competition for roles.

Key Takeaway #2
Engineering Managers commanded the highest salaries in both the US and UK, while engineers with specialized skills in AI, security, data, and machine learning are most in-demand.

Key Takeaway #3
While focusing on lower cost-of-living markets, (and fewer of them) some companies have opened new offices for in-person collaboration versus fully remote teams spread across borders.

Key Takeaway #4
Generative AI appears to be threatening junior talent, or those with less than four years of experience the most, but also presents opportunities for new roles and applications.

Key Takeaway # 5
Large and midsize companies are reducing remote work options for new positions, while smaller businesses are increasing remote roles. Experienced candidates mostly favor remote work while considering other options in the current market.

2023 tech salaries are taking a hit from inflation

US tech salaries have seen the largest year-over-year decline in the past five years. Inflation-adjusted tech salaries are down to their lowest point in five years, but demand for experienced talent remains strong.

Flexible work continues to be the most sought after perk overall

This year, benefits such as mental health care, paid parental leave, and wellness stipends leapt in front of one-time cash bonus.

AI is making an impact

Generative AI appears to be threatening junior talent, or those with less than four years of experience the most, but also presents opportunities for new roles and applications.

Virtual Panel Event for Jobseekers

Ahead of the Curve:
Adapting & Advancing in a New Era of Tech Careers

On Oct 11th, Hired is hosting a virtual jobseeker event where we'll explore AI’s impact on tech jobs and compensation. We'll also share interview and negotiation strategies for success in a competitive market and connect you with actively-hiring companies!

Virtual Panel Event for Employers

Revolutionizing Recruitment:
Walking the Tech Hiring Tightrope

Join industry experts on October 18th as they share predictions, case studies, and actionable insights to help you navigate the tech hiring tightrope.

Save Your Seat

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About Hired

Hired is the most efficient way to fill tech and sales roles today. With unbiased insights, DEI tools, tech skill assessments, sourcing services, and dedicated Customer Success Managers, Hired works with companies around the world, placing more than 20,000 active and qualified candidates in new roles. Using better data, curated matches, and ways to reach new markets and talent with higher acceptance rates, employers save an average of 45 sourcing hours per role using Hired’s solutions suite. Backed by The Adecco Group, Hired is rated by G2 as a leader in Recruiting Automation, Job Search Sites, and Diversity Recruiting.

Methodology

This report is based on Hired’s proprietary data from real interview requests (IVRs) and IVR salaries on the platform from companies to tech professionals, collected and analyzed by Hired’s data science team.

For this report, we focused on tech talent in our top activity markets spanning the US, UK, Canada, as well as those pertaining to remote positions. This report also analyzed more than a million interview requests communicated to nearly 250,000 jobseekers facilitated through our marketplace from January 2019 through June 2023.

Age, race and gender data was collected through an optional demographics survey given to Hired candidates used only for aggregated research purposes and not shared with Hired clients.

Where numbers have been adjusted to reflect the cost of living in a certain market, we used data from the site Numbeo, which factors in things like rent and real estate prices, groceries, transportation, utilities, local taxes, and more.

For more details, including terms and definitions, please download the report.