Are You Part Of 'the Great Stay?' Here's What Experts Say Is Behind This Latest Job Trend

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Tech professionals' concerns astir layoffs person decreased.
• At nan aforesaid time, location is little occupation hunting.
• AI looms, but different factors are besides influencing profession paths.

Technology professionals look to beryllium little apt to beryllium occupation hunting and look to beryllium much satisfied pinch nan jobs they have. Or, perhaps, they are conscionable staying put because it's reliable retired there? 

Professionals are little concerned astir layoffs, a recent survey from Indeed found. At this point, 31% opportunity they're worried astir layoffs astatine their companies, down from 39% a twelvemonth ago. Even much dramatically, 41% would see looking for a caller occupation if their institution had layoffs that didn't straight effect them -- this is down importantly from 70% a twelvemonth ago. 

There's immoderate disturbing news arsenic good successful nan study data: 26% study tech talent was fto spell aliases laid disconnected because of AI. More than one-third, 35%, are besides concerned that AI whitethorn beryllium capable to return complete their role. Tech guidance postings are down 19% from a twelvemonth ago, and postings for non-management tech pros are down 34%.  

Also: AI is much apt to toggle shape your occupation than switch it, Indeed finds

Indeed's findings are based connected its ain job-posting data, arsenic good arsenic nan views of 1,000 tech pros, collected betwixt May 22 and June 10, 2025.

On nan brighter side, Indeed recovered that location is simply a scope of tech skills successful precocious request -- but seldom listed by candidates successful their resumes. These sought-after skills see distributed computing, instrumentality learning frameworks, exemplary deployment, and tract reliability engineering.  

Looking astatine nan slowdown successful occupation hunting, immoderate observers are calling this inclination nan "great stay" -- a reversal from nan "great resignation" seen a fewer years back. Is AI to blame? The economy? All of nan above?

"The threat from AI is not what's causing tech group to enactment put," said Steve Morris, laminitis and CEO astatine NewMedia.com. "It's nan riskiness of nan occupation market." 

So far, AI, for nan astir part, has not led to nan occupation cuts feared.

"So yes, we tin opportunity that tech workers' discomfort pinch AI arsenic an existential threat has abated," Morris added. "Most tech workers do not want to discontinue correct now, because it's specified a risky clip to find a caller job. And those who do person a opportunity successful really AI is deployed successful their teams are, connected average, happier astir it."  

Most junior-level tech workers "only get to do grunt work," Morris explained. "That makes it other risky to time off a occupation wherever you astatine slightest person your ain area of nan domain context."  

'A cacophony of unstable environments'

AI whitethorn only explicate portion of nan awesome enactment trend. 

"It's a cacophony of unstable environments -- tariffs, AI, geopolitics -- that are making group stay, make do, aliases fastener successful -- each for nan incorrect reasons," said Caroline Stokes, workplace writer and coach. "Until recently, group wanted to move connected from their statement because their managers weren't decisive, driven, innovative, ethical, aliases respectful, mixed pinch a deficiency of finance successful nan areas nan business needed to move into -- AI."

Market and economical uncertainty -- much truthful than AI -- are holding backmost occupation hunts, said Phil Willburn, vice president of group analytics, insights, and experiences astatine Workday. "This is particularly existent successful nan exertion sector, wherever nan communicative is 1 of important soul profession stagnation -- not stability."

Workday's ain data showed that "while hiring request successful tech remains 1 of nan highest among industries -- pinch caller occupation requisition measurement increasing 29% year-over-year -- nan marketplace itself is slow and hyper-competitive," Willburn noted. More than half of unfastened roles (57%) return complete 30 days to fill, and each occupation connection successful this assemblage attracts an mean of 40 applications. "This challenging process intends that moreover if labor want to leave, they struggle to find a caller role."

Living pinch AI fears

Also: Got AI skills? You tin gain 43% much successful your adjacent occupation - and not conscionable for tech work

It's a clip erstwhile exertion professionals activity to build their portfolios and research caller areas of expertise, to get astir nan obstacles of occupation searching. "It's astir agency successful a clip of stagnation, taking power of their careers by diversifying income streams, choosing meaningful projects connected their ain terms, and building resilience against immoderate disruption comes adjacent successful nan market," said Roei Samuel, laminitis and CEO of Connectd. "They're creating options alternatively than waiting for nan marketplace to thaw aliases betting everything connected 1 employer."

AI fearfulness didn't disappear, he continued. "On nan contrary, I deliberation group are hyper-aware of it, but what that intends for nan marketplace mightiness return immoderate clip to travel to nan fore. For nan smartest and most-driven information of nan talent field, nan fearfulness conscionable sewage channeled into thing much productive than panic aliases paralysis."