Tech salaries are dropping. Here’s who’s getting hit the hardest

The last three years have been a whirlwind of change, from the response to a global pandemic, to increasing inflation, and onto the emergence of generative artifical intelligence (AI). These factors have impacted nearly every aspect of people’s lives, and not surprisingly, their salaries too.

On Wednesday, Hired released its 2023 State of Tech Salaries Report, which uses the recruitment specialist’s proprietary data and responses from a survey of more than 1,300 tech professionals to analyze the current state of the tech job market. 

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The report reveals that both fully in-person and hybrid local U.S. roles experienced their most significant year-over-year decline during the past year, dropping 3% from $161,000 to $156,000. 

“When adjusting for inflation, Hired’s data reveals a staggering story — local US salaries have plummeted to their lowest point in the past five years, decreasing 9% from $141,000 to $129,000 from 2022 to mid-2023,” said the report. 

Hired found some patterns that could put your salary concerns at ease — or even increase them, if you are greener in your career. According to the company’s data, the more experienced the talent, the less likely their salary is to decrease. 

The rise of generative AI combined with market conditions caused leadership to make difficult decisions regarding their workforce, and as a result, junior talent — which is classed as professionals with less than four years of experience — experienced the most significant decrease in salary at nearly 5% year on year. 

Moreover, the demand for junior staff also declined, with the number of roles posted on Hired dropping from 45% in 2019 to 25% in the first half of 2023. 

These facts and figures don’t sound too promising for the tech industry, but it’s still a good sector to work in, with an average salary of $158,000.

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That rate is nearly double the average U.S. knowledge worker who has an average salary of $78,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.