AI-driven layoffs continue, US IT industry unemployment rate rises to 3.8% in April

According to data from consulting firm Janco Associates, the unemployment rate in the U.S. information technology industry rose from 3.6% in March 2026 to 3.8% in April. Meanwhile, the U.S. overall unemployment rate remained at 4.3%, with new jobs concentrated in retail, transportation and other industries, but the IT industry lost 13,000 jobs.

Some tech companies explicitly cite AI as one of the reasons for layoffs: Meta cut 10% of its workforce (about 8,000 people) to invest in AI; Nike laid off 2% (about 1,400 people) in its tech department to simplify its structure; Snap cut 16% (about 1,000 people) to improve efficiency. Jobs in IT fields like telecommunications and data processing have dropped by 11% since their peak in November 2022.

Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco, noted that layoffs cannot be fully attributed to AI—factors like inflation and the Middle East situation are also reasons. Although demand for AI skills is high, companies are reluctant to hire AI talent at high salaries; however, some companies (like Lyft) have made AI usage a hiring requirement, and IBM plans to expand recruitment of fresh graduates.