In the previous post we discussed the Jevons Paradox and agreed that AI won't kill tech jobs — instead, it will multiply the volume of work. The technology makes cognitive labor cheaper, and demand for it only grows.
And here's the data to back it up:
First proof — from a fresh report by Lenny's Newsletter based on TrueUp data (tech companies only). Right now tech companies have 67,665 open engineering positions — up 78% from the late-2023 low. Since early 2026, the curve shot up sharply, hitting a three-plus-year high.
And it's not just about hardcore engineers: there are 216,000+ total tech job openings (+22.7% year-over-year). Everything is growing: Data Science & ML (+90%), Sales Engineering (+67%), BizOps (+44%), product and marketing (+27% each).
Second proof — the FRED index based on Indeed data (US software developer postings). After a brutal two-year decline from the 2022 COVID-era peak, the chart has turned up for the first time in three years and broken a new six-month high.
To be fair — we're nowhere near the 2022 frenzy when companies were vacuuming up the market (67K engineering openings now vs. 100K+ then). But the trend has unambiguously turned upward for the first time and is only accelerating.
The bottom line: AI made development and research cheaper. Each specialist became more productive, but instead of cutting headcount, companies are expanding the range of what's possible to launch. Vibecoding alone spawned a million micro-projects and hypotheses that nobody in their right mind would have started without AI. And to scale and maintain all of that — you still need real people.
So we haven't been replaced yet. There's just more work to do.