After rapid increases during the pandemic, tech salaries barely rose in 2024 — often not keeping up with inflation — with annual increases around ~1% in some surveys. This means real purchasing power for many tech workers has actually fallen.Massive layoffs — across big tech and smaller firms — have put more skilled workers into a tighter job market, weakening their bargaining power and slowing wage growth. Recruiters note that tech hiring overall is weaker than during the peak pandemic years, so while layoffs taper in some segments, job openings remain below early-2020 levels and wage growth hasn’t rebounded fully