[July 2026] Tech Job Market Trends Monthly

Welcome to the 7th issue of Tech Job Market Monthly! If you missed the previous months, you can check out the previous issues of Tech Job Market Monthly here.

So, a quick recap of how this works:

Each month, we sit down and check out the US job market for each major field in tech, so that you can get a mile-high view of how each industry is looking.

Why the US?

Mainly because it's the biggest market and because a lot of the other markets trail the US by a few months. This means it's fairly indicative of upcoming trends in other regions as well, although there may be specific geographic factors where you're based.

How do we come up with this information?

For now, we do this by evaluating data from 2 sources:

• LinkedIn, and

• Google trends

This way, we can see the number of open jobs available and compare that against previous months, as well as current search trends, to see if there are any spikes or dips in public interest.

One more thing to note is that LinkedIn by no means has all of the job postings that are available for any of these roles. There are many other job sites (broad and niche) with many more postings.

However, since LinkedIn has openings for all the major roles, it's very helpful for us to see directional changes month-over-month and see how many jobs are roughly available relative to others.

With all that out of the way, let's get into the data for July 2026.

Current Job Trends in the Tech Industry for July 2026

I know some of you just want the hard data, so I've made a handy dandy table here to show you the total # of job openings for each role and month-over-month ("MoM") change.

Good news this month, because as you can see, we have lots of green!

So what's going on this month and why was last month so bad?

Last month we saw most roles drop back to their January/February baseline as the seasonal hiring window closed. The good news though is that this month most of them are heading back up again, which is exactly what we expected to see once that window passed.

That being said, a few roles are still dipping slightly such as the Data Analyst, Data Engineer, and Business Intelligence Analyst roles. However, I fully expect this to turn around again.

With that out of the way, let's break down each role for this month in more detail.

1. Software Developer and Software Engineer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 36,960 Software Engineer (+1.7%/monthly)

• 47,940 Software Developer (+3.9%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graphs:

Both roles are back up slightly this month, which is good news after June's usual end of hiring window dip. Nothing massive, but they're in the right direction.

Add in the fact that these 2 roles still have the highest number of open positions with almost 85,000 and both are still great options for working in if you're just getting started. Speaking of which...

Want to get started in these roles? Check out the career path below. It will help you get set up in both Software Development and Software Engineering roles:

2. AI and Machine Learning Engineer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 9,101 AI Engineer (+5.8%/monthly)

• 3,757 ML Engineer (+10.9%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graphs:

AI Engineer is back up 5.8% this month and is still well above where it started the year, so the longer run here is genuinely strong. ML Engineer is also up 10.9% which is great, but it does flag something from last month...

So, if you read the June edition, we flagged the drop in ML Engineering roles as possibly broken data because the numbers kept jumping around while we were checking (as well as the huge month over month growth for ML Engineer roles, and then the sudden drop so something seemed off).

However, this months numbers are fairly similar, so it seems like it was just a big impact after that June hiring windows closing. Good news though is it's rising back up again, and almost 4,000 open positions is nothing to complain about.

Want to get started in these roles? Check out the career paths below:

3. Data Scientist

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 5,189 Data Scientist (+7.7%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

The number of open Data Science positions are up 7.7% this month after June's dip, which is great to see. Like I've said before, it's such a pivotal role alongside the growth of AI and ML tools, so we should see fairly consistent growth outside of those hiring windows.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

4. Cybersecurity Analyst and Cybersecurity Specialist

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 2,873 Cybersecurity Specialist (+0.6%/monthly)

• 2,647 Cybersecurity Analyst (-8.7%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

Cybersecurity Specialist held basically flat this month, while the Analyst role dropped 8.7%. As I've said a few times, Cybersecurity is such a vital role, so what's going on?

Well, the most likely story here is that companies are trimming team sizes because the team members that they have can now use AI tools to cover more ground. Which makes sense on paper, but it's a bit of a gamble when you consider that hackers are using the same AI tools to come at them harder and faster than ever.

Leaner teams facing smarter threats isn't exactly a winning combination...

I'm sure they'll soon figure it out and start hiring even more again, so why not get a head start and learning how to use AI to help you defend systems, with our AI for Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity Bootcamp:

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Not only is this important for both defense and red teaming, but it's definitely a skill that employers are going to look for more and more. (I would even recommend this course to people outside of cybersecurity, simply so you know what's happening and can protect yourself better).

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

5. AI Developer and Prompt Engineer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 320 AI Developer (+3.9%/monthly)

• 46 Prompt Engineer (+12.2%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graphs:

Both roles are ticking up again this month, which keeps the trend going in the right direction. Prompt Engineer in particular had a nice jump at +12.2%, though with numbers this small even a handful of new postings can move the needle quite a bit percentage wise.

As we've said before, the raw numbers here are still tiny compared to the rest of the dataset. The bigger story remains that a lot of these skills seem to be getting absorbed into AI Engineer and other job titles rather than being listed under their own name. So the demand is there, the industry's just still figuring out what to call it.

Either way, its 100% worth picking up these skills, to supplement your current role.

Want to get started in these roles or pick up these skills? Check out the career path and courses below:

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6. UX and UI Designer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 798 UX/UI Designer (-0.4%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

Basically flat this month at -0.4%, which is honestly fine. After June's big drop back to the seasonal baseline, holding steady is a decent result. This role isn't going anywhere, and as we keep saying, every new AI product still needs someone making sure it doesn't look and feel terrible to use.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

7. DevOps Engineer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 3,087 DevOps Engineer (+16.5%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

One of the stronger bounces this month at +16.5%, which is great to see after June's drop back to the January baseline. This one's now sitting comfortably above where it started the year, and I predict it'll continue to grow outside of that hiring window.

Why?

I've said it a few times but every AI product being built needs infrastructure behind it, and that demand isn't slowing down. If anything, as more companies pour into AI development, the more DevOps engineers they need to keep it all running!

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

8. Data Engineer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 7,751 Data Engineer (-5.9%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

A small dip this month at -5.9%, which bucks the trend of most roles bouncing back in July. That said, it's still well above where it started the year so nothing too alarming.

It's worth remembering too that every company building AI products eventually hits the same wall, and it's not the model or the algorithm, it's the data pipeline feeding it. Clean, reliable data is what makes AI actually work, and Data Engineers are the ones building and maintaining that.

That demand isn't going anywhere, so we should start to see more growth soon.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

9. Data Analyst

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 15,236 Data Analyst (-1.7%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

A small dip again this month, as AI tools are getting better at handling the more routine parts of this role, and that's likely putting some downward pressure on hiring numbers.

That said, 15,000+ open roles is still a massive pool, so don't let that put you off. Someone still needs to understand what the numbers actually mean and turn them into real decisions, and that's the part AI can't fully replace.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

10. Blockchain Developer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 505 Blockchain Developer (+58.3%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

This role has the biggest bounce back in the whole dataset this month at +58.3%, which is great to see after June's drop back to the January baseline. However, that's mainly because this is still relatively small numbers compared to most other roles. But the trajectory since we started tracking in January has been pretty remarkable.

It still feels like one of those roles that hasn't quite taken off yet, but it offers high salaries, a shortage of people who can actually do it well, and more industries finding real uses for it every year. Still a great role to look into if you haven't already.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

11. Business Intelligence Analyst

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 1,179 Business Intelligence Analyst (-8.3%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

This role is down 8.3% this month, which is a bit disappointing after most other roles bounced back. That said it's still above where it started the year, so the longer trend is still positive.

When budgets are tight and leadership needs to know exactly where every dollar is going, the people who can provide that clarity become more valuable, not less. That case for this role hasn't changed.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

12. Game Developer

LinkedIn/Job Data (US) - July 2026:

• 454 Game Developer (+33.1%/monthly)

Google Keywords Trend graph:

A solid bounce back at +33.1% after June's drop, which is good to see. That said, it's worth knowing what's been going on in the industry this year.

• Epic Games cut over 1,000 staff in March

• Microsoft just hit Obsidian, Bethesda, id Software and ZeniMax with 1,600 layoffs in July

• And industry trackers are projecting over 14,000 game industry layoffs across 2026, up 78% from what they were forecasting at the start of the year.

Yeesh right!?

However, the jobs are still there, with mobile, live-service, and indie studios still hiring as well as some big developers, but it's a more competitive landscape than it's been for a while. If this is the path you want, it's still absolutely worth going for, it just takes more persistence right now.

Want to get started in this role? Check out the career path below:

What's next?

So that's July 2026 wrapped up:

Good news all round this month, as most roles bounced back after June's seasonal dip, which is exactly what we were expecting to see. DevOps Engineer, Blockchain Developer, and Game Developer led the charge, while AI Engineer and ML Engineer continued their recovery too. The few roles that didn't bounce back such as Data Analyst, Data Engineer, and Business Intelligence Analyst, are worth keeping an eye on, but none of them fell off a cliff either.

If you're figuring out where to point your energy, AI Engineer remains the standout, still well above where it started the year even after everything. But as always, this is one data point, not gospel, so do your own digging too.

We'll be back next month with the August numbers, so subscribe below so you don't miss it!