> In 2023, the software engineering industry faces a record-breaking shortage of professionals. This skills crisis has resulted in an astonishing 1 million tech job vacancies that still need to be fulfilled. Reports suggest that the number of US job vacancies, due to a lack of talent, will reach 85.2 million by 2030.

This doesn't disprove any of what's been shared earlier in this thread. Because of the layoffs and uncertainty around the future effects of interest rates on the wider economy, many companies have laid off thousands and are being much pickier about their hiring.

So even though there's vacancies, that doesn't mean the experience of seeking a job is as easy as it used to be - just the opposite, in fact. This is what many mean by "the market has shifted".

I don't know if there's studies out there conclusively proving that it's gotten harder to find a job (longer to land an offer, lower salaries on offer on average, # of remote jobs available, # of applicants applying to them etc), but I think we might never find such to begin with because these specific metrics might not be as keenly tracked.