Tech Job Postings Plummet in Europe While Emerging Markets Boom: What's Driving the Shift?

Global Trends in Tech Job Postings

Tech job postings on the hiring platform Indeed have been declining globally since their peak in late 2022. By 2025, postings had fallen below pre-pandemic levels everywhere, though the drop has been less severe in emerging market economies.

European Countries Hit Hardest

European countries have seen some of the largest declines, while several Middle Eastern economies have experienced strong growth over the last five years.

Indeed classifies tech and mathematics roles under four categories: software development; information design and technology; IT operations and help desk; and mathematics.

Among the 27 countries analysed, European nations saw the steepest fall in tech job postings between 1 February 2020 and 31 October 2025, based on a seven-day moving average.

In absolute terms, the decline exceeded 40% in Switzerland (-46%) and the UK (-41%), with France (-39%) close behind.

The United States showed a similar trend, with a decline of 35%. Austria (-34%), Sweden (-32%), and Germany (-30%) were also at comparable levels.

Other European countries experienced more moderate drops: Ireland (-22%), Italy (-16%), Belgium (-14%), the Netherlands (-12%), and Poland (-10%).

Across all 27 countries tracked by Indeed, global tech postings fell by 18%.

Economic and AI Factors Influencing the Decline

"Both Europe and North America experienced a boom in tech job postings coming out of the pandemic that around 2022 began reversing into a bust," Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed, told Euronews Business.

He said the tech sector appears to have undergone an intensified version of broader shifts in employer hiring appetite, with demand fading as the economic backdrop weakened.

"As the macroeconomic situation was already turning, we entered the new AI era, marked by ChatGPT going public, which has potentially added a further hit to demand for certain — particularly entry-level tech jobs," he added.

Exceptions in Europe and Growth in Emerging Markets

Spain and Luxembourg were the only European countries among the 13 analysed where tech job postings did not decline between February 2020 and October 2025. Postings rose 21% in Spain and 37% in Luxembourg.

Bernard noted that tech postings in Spain are down from their mid-2022 peak but have not reversed their earlier boom to the same extent as in other advanced economies. "This could be related to broader strength in the Spanish economy, which has helped keep overall job postings relatively stable in recent years," he said.

Several Middle Eastern countries recorded some of the largest increases in tech postings over this period.