Over a few years, I came to rely on proxy indicators that I found to be reliably in sync with the strength / weakness of the job market for software engineers.
One of these indicators is the business spending index (it has an official name, something about purchasing managers' sentiment index or similar). CNBC tends to show it a lot these days, you can't miss it.
Another one is "US Auto Loans Delinquent by 90 or More Days (I:USALD90)" which is a very good "finger to the wind" for how the overall economy is doing, since everyone needs a car.
Neither of these indicators are looking good these days.
I self submitted a few positions, two rejections, others didn't reply.
I'm interviewing with 2 companies, both companies found me. One of them is not responsive after the first round, I feel that they are having a hiring freeze. (Because I know one of its competitor is having a hiring freeze).
This is the most frequent I've seen since early 2022. These are for fairly senior roles.
Entry-level positions face fierce competition (average response rate <20%). Senior roles (5+ years) command salaries exceeding $150K, especially for AI/machine learning and full-stack experts.
