Why does nobody talk about the shift in Austin's tech hiring after the 2023 layoffs?

Spencer Coleman · 2026-10-17T22:05:04.111234+00:00

I was talking to a recruiter friend last week who works at a mid-size SaaS company here in Austin, and she said something that stuck with me: back in early 2023, she had 400 applicants for a junior dev role in a week. Now, for the same kind of role, she gets maybe 80. That's a huge drop, and she thinks it's because a lot of people left tech entirely or moved to cheaper cities after the big layoffs. On one hand, that's great for companies because they can be pickier and maybe pay less. On the other hand, I've heard from friends still looking that it feels like the bar has gone up a lot, and they're stuck in limbo. I'm curious what others have seen. Has the hiring scene really changed that much in the last 6 months, or is it just certain companies?

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Why does nobody talk about the shift in Austin's tech hiring after the 2023 layoffs? | Austin Tech Business - Thought Shares