U.S. Software Developer Job Postings Rise Nearly 15% Since Anthropic's Claude Code Launch, CNBC Reports

Concerns about the future of software development careers have intensified as companies adopt AI-powered coding tools. As far back as 2023, GitHub said that on projects where AI was available, it was close to writing half of all code. Some AI experts claim AI-written code across the entire GitHub platform has now passed the halfway mark. GitHub has not confirmed that, but in October it reported that one in three pull requests—the process in which coders collaborating on development propose code changes—now involve an AI agent. A year earlier, GitHub said that number was fewer than one in 10. GitHub stated that if that pace holds, within the next two years most of the code pushed to GitHub could be written by an agent, and much of it may never be fully read by a human.

Labor market researchers say that against this backdrop, the profession is evolving rather than disappearing. Data from Indeed Hiring Lab shows that U.S. software-development job postings have risen nearly 15% since February 2025, bucking both the overall job market and the coding data.

Some economic experts point to the rebound as confirmation of a glass half-full view of AI and the job market. Eric Kutcher, North America chair at McKinsey, said during a recent interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that "It wasn't that long ago that we were reading the headline that there will be no more need for software developers." Instead, he said, as companies produce more code than ever before, software developers who work with AI remain in high demand. "We're seeing much more growth in the places we thought we were gonna see the biggest displacement," Kutcher said.

Recent research on AI and the future of jobs from McKinsey Global Institute notes that the earlier decline in the software developer field was not solely an AI story. While AI has been automating software-development tasks in recent years, the rebound comes after a steep drop from a 2022 hiring peak, when technology companies pulled back after a pandemic-era surge in hiring. But even after the recovery, software-development job postings remain about 27.5% below their pre-pandemic level, according to Indeed Hiring Lab data. The increase is concentrated in senior-level roles and more experienced AI-oriented positions. Indeed Hiring Lab found that senior roles accounted for 71% of the increase in software-development postings between May 2025 and May 2026. Job titles that mention AI accounted for 37% of the increase.

AI tools may be allowing companies to produce code more quickly than developers could on their own. GitHub leaders have said in the past that as much if not more than 80% of code could eventually be written by AI, especially as developers become more comfortable working with AI tools. But that also could mean demand for workers is concentrated on those who can evaluate AI-generated code or problems and connect new tools to an organization's broader technology systems.

Sneha Puri, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, said companies are realizing that even if AI can handle some technical coding tasks, they still need developers to oversee that work, refine products and help clients integrate the technology into their day to day operations. One example, she said, is the growing need for workers who can help businesses apply AI tools beyond simply building them.

Early gains in the AI era may not last, and young workers remain at risk. A recent analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from economist Steve Rattner found that software developer was among the career categories that showed positive growth from May 2023 to May 2025, though it was merely in line with growth across all occupations and well below the pace of growth in traditionally blue-collar jobs associated with building AI data centers. Anthropic researchers found that even with automation, humans are still needed to oversee that automation and require user input. But the researchers cautioned that it is "by no means certain that this pattern will persist into the future."

GitHub said in its report on pull requests that as AI pushes more code into the world, and with it more risks in the code, humans must be in a position to scale with the technology to police the AI's work. But that may not be possible forever, the report said, warning that as the amount of code grows, the industry must prevent more exposures and reduce the human effort required by those that remain, or the volume of vulnerabilities could increase.