Are AI layoffs shrinking tech employment? US tech jobs grew by 86,000 in the same month

Technology occupation employment in the US grew by about 86,000 workers in August, according to CompTIA's analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, while tech companies cut roughly 14,700 positions across technical and non-technical roles in the same period. CompTIA counted nearly 600,000 active technology postings in August, 42% of them newly posted, and more than 320,000 postings requiring AI-related skills, up 4.5% month on month. Much of that demand now sits outside the tech sector entirely, in manufacturing, administrative support and retail. The composition is shifting faster than the total: job site Dice found postings for roles with AI in the title rose 173% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, while software development postings fell 22% over the same period. Indeed's Hiring Lab reports many AI-titled roles are decades-old jobs relabelled. Both things are true at once, and the second number is the one workers feel.