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How work gets done is changing rapidly, as are the skills required to drive business success. Companies across industries are launching new initiatives, adopting AI and adjusting to shifting demands, and seeking skilled talent to support growth and modernization. But many firms remain cautious about adding headcount too quickly. As a result, staffing conversations in early 2026 are increasingly focused on which roles are most essential and how to hire effectively.
Meanwhile, technology leaders and their teams face colliding priorities. They must strengthen security, implement AI, and modernize systems at the same time, often with limited capacity. That pressure is keeping demand high for talent in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and data engineering. Skills gaps can delay or derail critical work and increase operational risk. And while new tools, including AI, can help advance strategic initiatives, outcomes still depend on technologists who can implement and optimize systems responsibly, troubleshoot in real time and partner effectively across the business.
Research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report shows many tech and IT leaders are responding to these and other challenges with a mix of approaches—including upskilling existing teams and engaging highly skilled contract talent—to support critical systems, advance digital initiatives, and keep pace with evolving technology and security demands.
2026 Technology job market: In-demand roles and hiring trends
What does the technology hiring market look like?
Technology hiring in early 2026 is being driven primarily by critical execution needs. Organizations are seeking talent to support AI initiatives, fortify security and modernize infrastructure, while still working to keep teams agile and flexible. Research for Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent found that 87% of technology leaders feel confident about their business outlook for 2026, and 61% plan to increase permanent headcount in the first half of the year—underscoring the need for continued investment in tech and IT capabilities. Many leaders also plan to step up contract or temporary hiring.
However, the tight labor market remains a hurdle to meeting technology hiring goals. Nearly two-thirds of technology hiring managers (65%) say it’s more challenging to find skilled professionals than it was a year ago. In many organizations, concern is growing about whether they can secure professionals with the right specialized skills and depth of experience quickly enough to keep strategic priorities, including AI and ML integration, on track.
What job posting trends show
Even though many organizations stayed cautious about increasing headcount and some businesses laid off workers, technology hiring throughout 2025 remained strong overall. According to Robert Half’s analysis of job posting activity, employers in the U.S. posted nearly 1.1 million technology jobs last year, reflecting ongoing demand for roles that support system reliability, application development and security, alongside emerging priorities tied to AI and data.
A few specialty areas saw outsized growth. AI, ML and data science roles totaled 49,200 postings in 2025, up 163% from 2024, while security roles reached 66,800 postings, up 124% year over year. Cybersecurity engineers alone accounted for 20,000 new roles—one more sign that security has become a top hiring priority for many organizations.
By industry, technology hiring was strongest in financial services and manufacturing and distribution, each approaching 100,000 roles, as organizations invested in securing systems, enabling automation and managing more complex IT environments. Tech and IT firms continued to hire at scale, while consumer products companies expanded teams to strengthen digital platforms, data capabilities and security.
What unemployment rates suggest about the competition for skilled talent
Unemployment data reinforces how limited the available talent pool remains for many technology roles. Based on 2025 annual figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the following roles were among those with unemployment rates well below the year-end national rate of 4.4%:
Systems analysts: 2.6%
Database administrators and architects: 2.4%
Network and systems administrators: 2.3%
Network architects: 2.3%
Security analysts: 2.1%
These low unemployment rates reflect a market where experienced technology professionals have options—and know it. For employers, that reality often translates into longer searches, more negotiation on compensation, flexibility and role scope, and sustained competition for in-demand technology talent.
What tech and IT roles are still in demand?
Efforts to adopt AI and make it usable at scale are driving technology hiring in 2026. Employers are also prioritizing professionals who can build and manage cloud environments, keep core platforms secure, make the most of critical data, and help ensure systems perform optimally as workloads evolve. That’s why there’s an ongoing need for these tech and IT roles:
AI/ML engineer: These professionals help design, deploy and maintain models that support automation, analytics and product innovation, making them critical to long-term AI strategies.
Data analyst: Their work helps teams translate data into insight—supporting AI initiatives while also tracking performance, spotting patterns and informing day-to-day decision making.
DevOps engineer: DevOps engineers help keep development moving by improving pipeline reliability, automating workflows and aiding collaboration between development, operations and security teams.
IT project manager: With initiatives spanning systems, vendors and teams, organizations need IT project managers to coordinate work, manage risk, and keep timelines and scope on track.
Network/cloud engineer: Businesses modernizing infrastructure, migrating workloads and supporting hybrid environments need the expertise of network and cloud engineers to maintain performance, reliability and security across increasingly distributed systems.
Software engineer: These professionals build and maintain the applications behind digital products, internal systems and customer-facing platforms, and demand is especially strong for engineers who can integrate AI-driven features.
Systems administrator: As IT environments become more complex, organizations need these specialists to manage risk, strengthen security and support continuity across core platforms.
What tech and IT roles are seeing increased demand—and why?
As technology priorities evolve in 2026, some roles are gaining momentum because they sit at the intersection of risk management, data strategy and large-scale transformation. These positions tend to support initiatives that organizations can’t afford to delay or under-resource:
Cybersecurity engineer: As cyber risk continues to climb, businesses are increasing investment in cybersecurity engineering to strengthen defenses and reduce exposure, especially as AI adoption introduces new access points and threats.
Data scientist: Demand for data scientists is also growing as organizations move beyond basic analytics and apply advanced modeling to AI and ML initiatives, turning data into predictive insight to support automation, personalization and more sophisticated decision making.
ERP business analyst: Organizations modernizing core systems rely on ERP business analysts to translate operational needs into clear requirements for technical teams and ensure projects stay aligned with business goals and deliver measurable results.
Learn more about tech and IT jobs in demand
View the report
Explore our Demand for Skilled Talent report to see what specializations employers need most this year in tech and IT and other top professions.
What tech and IT skills are in demand?
In 2026, technology leaders are prioritizing skills that keep systems secure and reliable while enabling AI and data initiatives. They’re placing greater value on practical, end-to-end execution than on deep expertise in any single tool. As AI becomes more embedded across workflows, tech leaders are also emphasizing the human skills that make these initiatives effective and safe, like critical thinking and adaptability.
Here are some highlights from Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report and job posting analysis.
Technical capabilities employers value most in tech and IT
AI adoption
Automation workflows
Continuous integration
DevSecOps
Enterprise software apps
Governance
Machine learning
Product management
Examples of software proficiencies in high demand
Apache Kafka
Databricks
Microsoft Azure
How to compete for tech and IT talent in 2026
Find out more
In 2026, many employers are finding that one of the greatest challenges in hiring tech and IT talent is balancing competing priorities. AI initiatives, cloud upgrades and security improvements often overlap, requiring teams to staff multiple workstreams at once. For hiring managers facing tight timelines and persistent talent shortages, specialized recruiters can help surface qualified candidates faster and provide access to flexible talent options, including permanent and contract professionals.
Engaging specialized recruiters can also provide an edge. Higher application volume, uneven quality of candidates’ skills and experience, and the rise of AI-generated resumes are making it harder for leaders to assess potential hires quickly and confidently. As a result, many employers seek additional support. Seventy percent of technology leaders say the AI factor alone has made them more likely to turn to a staffing or consulting firm, mainly to help find candidates with specialized AI skills, identify AI-related skills gaps and manage increased volume of AI-generated job applications.
That support is delivering results. A strong majority (93%) of tech and IT leaders surveyed for our Demand for Skilled Talent report say staffing firms have been effective at helping them address AI-related hiring challenges.
Work flexibility, offered as part of a compelling total compensation package, can also help employers compete more effectively for in-demand talent. Research from Robert Half found that 29% of technology roles are advertised as hybrid work arrangements, reflecting the continued interest professionals have in flexibility that support productivity and work-life balance.
Robert Half can help you secure the skilled tech and IT talent your business needs to succeed in 2026.
About the Demand for Skilled Talent report
The Demand for Skilled Talent report by Robert Half is an authoritative source providing essential insights into employment trends. This report has offered a deep dive into the U.S. hiring landscape for over a decade, spotlighting challenges and strategies to attract and retain talent. It explores what employees seek in their careers, identifies common recruitment errors and suggests solutions. The report spans finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources, proving crucial for business leaders and managers.
Methodology
The surveys cited were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the U.S.
Over 1.5 million new positions from more than 9,000 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including thousands of placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 430 job titles within Robert Half’s Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, non-clinical healthcare, and human resources professions.
