Digital Jobs Index: 2019 Hiring Softens in Major Tech Hubs

ON Partners data reveal overall hiring remains strong, was down in last half of 2019

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ON Partners, the experience-driven retained executive search firm, today unveiled the results of its 2019 Digital Jobs Index for the nation’s largest tech centers of Boston, New York City and the Bay Area. Data show that while hiring in the major tech hubs remained strong, it was down from 2018. Key findings from the report include:

• Bay Area tech employment increased by 11.5% and 27,500 jobs added in 2019, compared to 12.7% and 26,780 new jobs in 2018. The ten local companies showing the largest annual headcount gains include Google, Facebook, Apple, Oracle, Amazon, Adobe, Salesforce, Airbnb, Workday and VMWare.

• New York’s tech hiring increased by 10.0% and 8,190 jobs added in 2019, compared to 13.4% and 9,420 new jobs in 2018. The top local hiring companies include Amazon, Google, Facebook, Compass, Spotify, Microsoft, Uber, Salesforce, Indeed.com and Lyft.

• Boston’s tech headcount growth increased by 6.0% and 4,100 jobs added in 2019, compared to 9.2% and 5,540 new jobs in 2018. Top local hiring companies include Wayfair, Amazon, Google, HubSpot, Toast, ezCater, Mathworks, CarGurus, TripAdvisor and Kronos.

“While overall 2019 tech hiring was strong by almost any measure, we saw a noticeable slowdown that began over the summer and continued to the end of the year,” noted John Barrett, partner at ON Partners. “Increasing fears due to the coronavirus are expected to dampen hiring in this year’s first quarter, which is historically the strongest period for new hiring.”

For full results, please visit https://onpartners.com/2020/03/02/digital-jobs-index-2019-hiring-softens-in-major-tech-hubs/.

About the ON Partners Digital Jobs Index

To compile the Digital Jobs Index, ON Partners identified the leading 100 software and internet companies in the country’s major tech hubs. When considering a company’s eligibility to be included, ON Partners analyzes the number of local employees in each city, employment growth and importance to the local technology community. The Index represents headcount change in LinkedIn among those companies in each metropolitan area within a 50-mile radius. The Index is current as of December 31, 2019.

The Digital Jobs Index tracks headcount growth among the leading 100 software and internet companies in the Bay Area, Boston and New York City. In addition to tracking the overall number of jobs added, the Digital Jobs Index also measures headcount growth driven by the top 10 companies and additional “up and comer” companies. Together, the data provide a barometer of the health of the labor market in the software and internet sectors.

About ON Partners

ON Partners propels an organization’s mission by building C-level and board leadership teams. Founded in 2006 by like-minded consultants as a values-driven alternative to the multi-service global firms they were leaving behind, ON delivers a better executive search experience. The firm has been named to the Inc. 500/5000 Lists six times, was named to the Inc. 5000 Hall of Fame in 2018 and is consistently ranked among the top 20 retained executive search firms in the U.S. For more information, visit onpartners.com.