Don't be misled by no-context reports of big tech layoffs 🤨

Big tech isn't as big an employer as you might think 🤏

Reports of tech layoffs have riddled news headlines. (Source Goldman Sachs)

For months, we’ve been reading about prominent tech companies announcing hiring freezes and layoffs.

While these developments are certainly challenging to those affected, their impact hasn’t been very significant at the economy-wide level.

As TKer readers know well, U.S. employers have been announcing a little over 1 million layoffs per month for months, a seemingly high number. But TKer readers also know that number represents a little under 1% of total employment, a figure that’s been below pre-pandemic levels for months.

In other words, these layoff announcements do not reflect a widespread downturn in the U.S. labor market at this time. (Read more here, here, here, here, and here.)

It’s fair to say that the market for tech jobs is experiencing hiccups. However, tech represents a very small share of total employment in the U.S.