U.S. software job postings rise nearly 15%, but senior roles drive the rebound

Predictions that AI would erase demand for software developers are running into an uneven reality. U.S. software-development job postings have risen nearly 15% since late February 2025, while overall postings fell 7%, according to Indeed Hiring Lab data reported by CNBC on October 11. Most of the software rebound, however, is going to experienced workers.

The recovery is not a return to the old hiring market. Software-development postings remain about 27.5% below their pre-pandemic level. They also follow a steep retreat from a 2022 hiring peak, when technology companies pulled back after a pandemic-era hiring surge.

That history complicates any simple verdict on AI. McKinsey Global Institute research cited by CNBC says the earlier decline was not solely an AI story. Likewise, rising postings alongside greater use of coding tools do not, by themselves, show that AI created the openings.

Experience captures the rebound

Indeed’s breakdown shows who is benefiting. Senior roles accounted for 71% of the increase in software-development postings between May 2025 and May 2026. Job titles mentioning AI accounted for 37% of the increase over that same period.

Those figures describe contributions to the increase, not shares of all software vacancies. They also cover a different window from the nearly 15% rebound measured since February 2025. The distinction matters: the headline recovery and its composition answer different questions about advertised demand.

71%Senior roles

Share of the software-development posting increase from May 2025 to May 2026, according to Indeed Hiring Lab.

37%AI-titled roles

Share of the increase attributed to job titles mentioning AI over the same period.

More code still needs judgment

Indeed economist Sneha Puri told CNBC that companies still need developers to oversee automated coding, refine products and help clients integrate technology into daily operations. She pointed to demand for workers who can help businesses apply AI tools, rather than simply build them.

McKinsey’s North America chair, Eric Kutcher, offered the optimistic interpretation in a CNBC interview: companies are producing more code, and developers who work with AI remain in high demand. That is an explanation for the rebound, not a finding that every developer benefits equally.

The shift in coding activity is substantial. GitHub reported in October that one in three pull requests—proposals to change a project’s code—involve an AI agent. A year earlier, the figure was fewer than one in 10.

GitHub also warned that more code brings more security risks. It said developers must prevent more exposures and reduce the human effort needed to address those that remain, or the volume of vulnerabilities could become untenable. Its warning makes oversight a scaling problem, not merely a task that survives automation.

A weaker first rung

For young developers, the picture is markedly worse. Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index found that employment among software developers ages 22 to 25 fell 20%, CNBC reported. Across AI-exposed fields, employment for that age group fell 16% since the rise of generative AI, while older developer roles expanded.

These are employment figures, rather than counts of advertised openings. They show why a rebound in postings can coexist with a harder route into the profession. Stronger demand for experienced staff does not mean the entry-level market has recovered.

Puri advised students to learn AI tools without neglecting communication, interpersonal skills and leadership. But she also put responsibility on employers: “Today’s entry-level talent becomes tomorrow’s senior experts.” Without building those pipelines now, she warned, employers will lack the senior talent they need a decade later.

The longer-term forecast remains positive. An August Bureau of Labor Statistics report projects software-developer employment will grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, from about 1.72 million to 1.89 million jobs. That is a projection for the profession overall—not a promise of easier entry for today’s graduates.