February Data Science Job Market Report (2025)

The tech job market in the past month saw shifting demand across roles, major hiring trends, and a sharp rise in layoffs. Here are the three key takeaways:

• Traditional core data roles remain among the most in-demand, with Data Analyst openings increasing by 25% and Data Engineers rising by 42% month-over-month. Software Engineering roles are still most hired despite a 27% decrease month-over-month.
• FAANG companies, led by Amazon, Apple, and Google, continue hiring, but global competitors like TikTok and Shopee are expanding aggressively in the U.S. job market.
• Layoffs nearly tripled from December 2024 to 6,000 employees in January 2025, with large workforce reductions at Meta, Stripe, and Digital River driving the increase.

With these trends in mind, job seekers should explore opportunities beyond FAANG, monitor industry shifts, and stay adaptable in a changing job market. Let’s break down the full report.

The number of open tech jobs has remained in the low 200,000s since March 2024, with a slight uptick at the end of January 2025. There is no dramatic movement in the past months. Accoring to another report by CompTIA, the tech sector saw a net gain of 6,787 jobs, driven by 13,700 new positions in IT services and software development, which offset 7,900 job losses in telecommunications. While this indicates some hiring momentum, overall growth remains sluggish.

Meanwhile, unemployment among IT professionals rose to 2.9% in January, up from 2% the previous month. This suggests that while companies are hiring, they are also laying off workers at a higher rate. A deeper analysis of recent layoffs will be covered later in this report.

Core data roles—Data Scientists, Data Analysts, and Data Engineers—continue to be among the most in-demand positions in tech. Among these, job openings for Data Analysts increased by 25% month-over-month (MoM), while Data Engineers saw a 42% rise. Notably, Data Analysts have consistently had the highest number of job openings, a trend observed since June 2024.

In September 2024 and again in January 2025, the number of open positions for Data Engineers and Data Scientists nearly converged, reflecting a recurring trend.

Overall, despite an 8% decline in job openings for Data Scientists, demand for core data roles remains strong.

Software engineers continue to be among the most in-demand positions. While job openings declined by 27% in January 2025, software engineering roles still have more openings compared to other data-related positions.

On the other hand, emerging roles in data continue to grow, with specialized AI positions leading the way. It’s no surprise that AI-related roles are on the rise, even if they don’t yet match the volume of openings for traditional tech jobs. AI engineering has remained strong over the past year, and now we’re seeing increased demand for AI scientists and AI researchers as well.

This trend is also observed in other reports. According to CompTIA, active job postings for AI-related positions or roles requiring AI skills reached nearly 40,000 in January, an increase of about 1,500 from December. The highest demand came from San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C., which had the most AI job postings for the month.

Looking at FAANG, we see a significant decline in its share of total job openings, dropping from 4.49% in December 2024 to just under 2.5% in January 2025. This shift suggests that job growth is accelerating outside of FAANG, with emerging companies increasingly competing with tech giants in hiring volume. While FAANG has traditionally been the gold standard for tech careers, its shrinking share of job openings may reflect hiring slowdowns, internal restructuring, or a shift toward more specialized hiring rather than large-scale recruitment.

According to data from TrueUp.io, many FAANG companies still rank among the top hiring employers, with Amazon leading by a large margin, followed by Apple and Google. Microsoft, often grouped with FAANG, also maintains a strong presence. Interestingly, despite recent regulatory challenges in the U.S., TikTok ranks 4th among tech companies with the most job openings, highlighting its continued expansion. While American tech giants may have strong hiring efforts, global competitors—including TikTok and Shopee—are also aggressively growing their workforce in the U.S.

While FAANG companies remain dominant in individual hiring, the overall share of job opportunities is shifting toward other tech firms. For job seekers, this signals the importance of diversifying job searches beyond FAANG, as emerging companies and mid-sized tech firms are increasingly offering competitive roles.

We’ve analyzed salary trends over the past year, starting from January 2024, and one interesting pattern has emerged: a narrowing gap between entry-level and mid-level salaries. While mid-level professionals still earn more than entry-level workers, the difference shrunk between October and December 2024 before widening again in January 2025.

There’s no definitive explanation for this temporary convergence, but some possible factors include stronger entry-level hiring competition, companies adjusting salary bands due to budget constraints, or mid-level roles experiencing slower wage growth amid economic uncertainty. It remains unclear whether this was a short-term fluctuation or part of a larger trend, but it’s a notable shift worth highlighting.

Overall, salaries have remained relatively stable across different seniority levels, particularly for senior roles. However, there has been more fluctuation in entry-level and mid-level salaries. Entry-level salaries typically start in the low $100,000s but can reach up to $120,000, while mid-level salaries range from $120,000 to the high $130,000s at their peak.

The overall layoff trend in January 2025 remains lower than most months in 2024, but there was a sharp increase from December, with layoffs nearly tripling from 2,000 to 6,000 employees. Interestingly, while the number of companies laying off employees rose only slightly from 26 in December to 31 in January, some companies conducted large-scale workforce reductions, driving the surge in layoffs.

Major Layoffs in January 2025

• Meta led layoffs, cutting 3,600 jobs in the SF Bay Area. Notably, Meta is not among the top companies hiring, suggesting that these roles are not being refilled. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized that the company is raising performance expectations and plans to move out underperforming employees more quickly.
• Stripe laid off 300 employees in the SF Bay Area but clarified that hiring is not slowing down. Company leadership explained that the layoffs were a result of internal restructuring to ensure teams had the right people in the right roles and locations.
• Digital River, a Minnetonka-based e-commerce company, announced 122 layoffs as it prepares to shutter its headquarters after more than 30 years in business. The permanent layoffs, including remote workers across the U.S., will begin on March 28.
• Microsoft also conducted layoffs, reportedly targeting underperforming employees, though the exact number of affected workers has not been disclosed.

These layoffs highlight the ongoing restructuring efforts across the tech industry, with some companies tightening their workforce to boost efficiency, while others navigate financial and operational shifts.

The January 2025 tech job market reflects a mixed landscape—while demand for core data roles remains strong, hiring at FAANG is shifting, and layoffs have surged in certain companies. The rise in AI-related positions and increased hiring by global competitors signal new opportunities, but job seekers must stay flexible and explore beyond traditional tech giants.

For those navigating this evolving market, preparation is key. Whether you’re targeting a data role, a position at a top company, or breaking into AI, Interview Query can help. Explore our company guides for hiring insights, practice interview questions, test yourself with our AI Interviewer, or get expert advice through coaching. A competitive job market requires sharp skills—make sure you’re ready.