US software hiring is recovering. Junior developers are still being left behind.

The rebound is real, but it started from a deep slump

US software development job postings have risen by almost 15% since late February 2025, even as overall US postings fell 7% over the same period, according to Indeed Hiring Lab data. The rebound still leaves software development postings about 27.5% below their February 2020 level, so the market remains far weaker than it was before the pandemic.

The recent improvement matters because software was among the occupations hit hardest during the hiring slowdown. Indeed says the most AI exposed occupations generally fell the most between 2022 and 2026, but over the past year that relationship has started to reverse as software and other exposed fields recovered.

Most of the new demand is for experienced engineers

The recovery is not broad based. Senior roles accounted for 71% of the increase in software development postings between May 2025 and May 2026, while jobs with AI in the title accounted for 37%, according to Indeed's analysis of the software rebound. Those groups overlap, which means the two figures should not be added together.

A separate Indeed seniority study found that 69.3% of software development postings in the first quarter of 2026 were senior roles. Entry level positions represented just 4.5%, the smallest entry level share among the sectors Indeed examined.

Junior developers are facing a missing first rung

That imbalance helps explain why a recovering market can still feel frozen to recent graduates. Indeed defines entry level roles as positions centered on basic responsibilities and usually requiring no more than one year of experience, while senior roles typically involve strategic work or advanced specialist knowledge.

The shift is visible beyond software. Entry level postings across the US labor market were down 7.5% from a year earlier in May 2026, while senior postings were up 14.7%, according to the same Indeed seniority report. Software stands out because its entry level share is already so low, leaving fewer openings where new developers can build the experience employers later demand.

AI may be changing the mix, but the data does not prove the cause

Indeed is careful not to claim that AI caused the hiring shift. The researchers point to several forces that may be shaping white collar recruitment, including AI adoption, remote work, interest rates and the normalization that followed the pandemic hiring boom.

What the data does show is a market rewarding experience. Business Insider reported on August 25 that software development now has the highest senior share among more than 40 sectors in Indeed's analysis. For junior developers, the central problem is no longer simply whether software jobs are returning. It is whether enough of those jobs are designed for people who have not yet had the chance to become senior.

The two Indeed measures answer different questions. One describes the roles behind the recent increase; the other describes the make-up of the market at a particular point in time. They should not be added together, but they point in the same direction: the recovery is reaching experienced workers first.

That makes the rebound a less useful headline for someone entering the field. A larger number of postings can coexist with a smaller entry-level doorway. Until more employers create roles that include training and a realistic first step, the market can improve in aggregate while remaining difficult to enter.