More than 250,000 employees from 1,100 companies were laid off in the past year, according to Layoffs.fyi. However, according to a Qt Group report, there are still over 23,000 developer vacancies on company websites.

“The developer skills gap has been well-documented, but with so many tech companies forced into making redundancies across the business, the requirement for developer talent is as urgent as ever,” said JuhaPekka Niemi, senior vice president of product management at Qt Group.

“Despite an uncertain economic market, companies are still looking for – and struggling to recruit – developer talent”, he continued.

The company clarified that numerous redundancies were documented in 2023, attributing many layoffs to ongoing re-prioritization initiatives. As an illustration, a technology company, despite recording 27,410 redundancies, retained 5,437 developer positions on its website as of November 15.

The report asserts that to address the skills gap, companies must “enhance their design and development processes and enhance efficiency.” Additionally, Qt Group examined the impact of AI, noting that despite the current enthusiasm for AI, the demand for developers remains high due to their crucial role in fostering innovation and creativity.