State of Tech Hiring — Q3 2026
Comprehensive hiring analysis for Q3 2026: 10,564 listings, 199 companies, salary data and skill movements.
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Datamata Studios
Comprehensive hiring analysis for Q3 2026: 10,564 listings, 199 companies, salary data and skill movements.
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Q3 2026 tech hiring report: 10,564 job listings analysed across 199 companies. Skill demand rankings, salary data and quarter-over-quarter trends.
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10,564 listings analysed · 199 companies · July 01 – September 30, 2026
AI Agents dominated Q3 2026 hiring across all major functions, surging +8.8 percentage points in AI & Machine Learning roles, +6.7 percentage points in Product & Design and +4.0 percentage points in Software Engineering across 10,564 active listings from 199 companies. Legacy skills lost ground sharply, with Excel falling -24.8 percentage points and AWS dropping -21.6 percentage points quarter-over-quarter. Employers are actively deprioritising traditional cloud and productivity tooling in favour of agent-based AI capabilities, a shift visible across every major discipline tracked this quarter.
Key movements this quarter:
Software Engineering dominates Q3 2026 hiring with 4,298 listings — 40% of the 10,564 total across 199 companies. Data & Analytics follows with 2,365 listings, making these two categories home to more than half of all open roles. Demand thins out in Security (560 listings) and Product & Design (996 listings), signalling where hiring budgets are most concentrated this quarter.
2,365 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SQL | 11.4% | -7.2 percentage points |
| 2 | Python | 9.3% | -5.0 percentage points |
| 3 | Machine Learning | 6.5% | -1.3 percentage points |
| 4 | Stakeholder Mgmt | 5.5% | -9.8 percentage points |
| 5 | AWS | 4.1% | -5.7 percentage points |
4,298 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Java | 10.1% | -0.9 percentage points |
| 2 | AWS | 9.2% | -7.6 percentage points |
| 3 | Javascript | 6.5% | +1.4 percentage points |
| 4 | Agile / Scrum | 5.6% | -1.2 percentage points |
| 5 | CI/CD | 5.3% | -2.2 percentage points |
996 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llms / Genai | 7.5% | -3.1 percentage points |
| 2 | AI Agents | 6.7% | +6.7 percentage points |
| 3 | A/b Testing | 5.8% | -5.7 percentage points |
| 4 | Figma | 5.6% | -1.7 percentage points |
| 5 | Agile / Scrum | 3.7% | -4.5 percentage points |
1,331 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 15.4% | -9.9 percentage points |
| 2 | CI/CD | 14.1% | -3.5 percentage points |
| 3 | Azure | 12.1% | -4.4 percentage points |
| 4 | Kubernetes | 10.7% | -3.1 percentage points |
| 5 | Docker | 5.6% | -6.4 percentage points |
560 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 8.7% | -15.2 percentage points |
| 2 | Incident Response | 6.7% | -3.1 percentage points |
| 3 | Azure | 5.3% | -9.0 percentage points |
| 4 | GCP | 4.1% | -4.1 percentage points |
| 5 | AI Agents | 3.8% | +3.8 percentage points |
1,014 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machine Learning | 32.9% | -9.0 percentage points |
| 2 | Llms / Genai | 18.7% | -6.6 percentage points |
| 3 | AI Agents | 8.8% | +8.8 percentage points |
| 4 | AWS | 4.7% | -7.8 percentage points |
| 5 | Azure | 3.7% | -1.0 percentage point |
Skill movements in Q3 2026 tell a clear story about where the job market is heading. AI Agents posted the biggest quarter-over-quarter gains across multiple categories — up 8.8 percentage points in AI & Machine Learning, 6.7pp in Product & Design, 4.0pp in Software Engineering and 3.8pp in Security. On the other side, Excel dropped 24.8pp and AWS fell as much as 21.6pp in a single category, signalling a meaningful shift in which tools employers prioritise.
| Rank | Skill | Change | Current Demand | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI Agents | +8.8 percentage points | 8.8% | AI & Machine Learning |
| 2 | AI Agents | +6.7 percentage points | 6.7% | Product & Design |
| 3 | AI Agents | +4.0 percentage points | 4.0% | Software Engineering |
| 4 | AI Agents | +3.8 percentage points | 3.8% | Security |
| 5 | Angular | +2.7 percentage points | 2.7% | Software Engineering |
| 6 | AWS Security | +1.8 percentage points | 1.8% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 7 | AI Coding Tools | +1.5 percentage points | 1.5% | Product & Design |
| 8 | Databricks | +1.4 percentage points | 1.4% | Software Engineering |
| 9 | Javascript | +1.4 percentage points | 6.5% | Software Engineering |
| 10 | AI Agents | +1.4 percentage points | 1.4% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| Rank | Skill | Change | Current Demand | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excel | -24.8 percentage points | 1.9% | Product & Design |
| 2 | AWS | -21.6 percentage points | 2.4% | Product & Design |
| 3 | AWS | -15.2 percentage points | 8.7% | Security |
| 4 | Excel | -10.7 percentage points | 1.4% | Software Engineering |
| 5 | Scala | -10.5 percentage points | 0.7% | Data & Analytics |
| Skill | Demand | QoQ Change | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Agents | 4.0% | +4.0 percentage points | Software Engineering |
| AI Agents | 6.7% | +6.7 percentage points | Product & Design |
| AI Agents | 3.8% | +3.8 percentage points | Security |
| AI Agents | 8.8% | +8.8 percentage points | AI & Machine Learning |
Compensation varies sharply across tech categories in Q3 2026, with a spread of nearly $80,000 between the lowest and highest medians. Software Engineering leads at a $166,760 median, with AI & Machine Learning close behind at $165,123. Data & Analytics sits at the lower end of the range with a $87,279 median, while Product & Design ($145,012), DevOps & Infrastructure ($139,370) and Security ($131,550) cluster in the middle tier.
| Category | IQR Range | Median | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data & Analytics | $68,996 – $139,762 | $87,279 | 200 listings |
| Software Engineering | $131,255 – $218,372 | $166,760 | 200 listings |
| Product & Design | $89,193 – $190,700 | $145,012 | 200 listings |
| DevOps & Infrastructure | $105,770 – $172,376 | $139,370 | 200 listings |
| Security | $75,386 – $187,000 | $131,550 | 200 listings |
| AI & Machine Learning | $133,405 – $203,967 | $165,123 | 200 listings |
Data is sourced from public job listings on Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby career pages. Listings are ingested daily, normalized into six role categories and analyzed for skill-level demand share and quarter-over-quarter movement.
AI Agents is the standout skill this quarter, rising across every major category — including an 8.8pp jump in AI & Machine Learning and a 6.7pp jump in Product & Design. Software Engineering roles account for 4,298 of 10,564 total listings, making general engineering skills broadly in demand. Security and infrastructure hiring also remain active, with 1,331 DevOps & Infrastructure listings and 560 Security listings live this quarter.
Software Engineering roles carry the highest median compensation this quarter at $166,760, followed closely by AI & Machine Learning at $165,123. Data & Analytics sits at a $87,279 median — roughly half the Software Engineering figure — reflecting a wide salary gap depending on category. This data reflects current listing medians across 199 companies and 10,564 roles rather than year-over-year change.
Software Engineering is the most active hiring category in Q3 2026 with 4,298 listings, nearly double the next largest category. Data & Analytics ranks second with 2,365 listings, and DevOps & Infrastructure third with 1,331. Product & Design (996), AI & Machine Learning (1,014) and Security (560) round out the field, showing demand is heavily weighted toward engineering and data roles.
Published August 17, 2026. Data refreshed daily.
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