As AI rapidly automates coding work, U.S. software developer job postings have risen instead, a report showed. Hiring demand is concentrating on experienced workers and AI specialists, raising the bar for entry-level developers.

CNBC reported on Oct. 11 that U.S. software developer job postings rose about 15 percent after Anthropic launched its AI coding tool Claude Code in February 2025. Over the same period, overall job postings fell 7 percent. The figures were compiled by Hiring Lab, a research unit of job platform Indeed.

Developer job postings are still down 27.5 percent compared with February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also not confirmed whether AI adoption and the rise in hiring have a direct causal relationship.

AI involvement in coding work is rising quickly. GitHub said that, as of this month, AI agents were involved in 1 out of 3 pull requests that propose code changes. A year earlier, the figure was less than 1 in 10.

The role companies demand of developers is also changing. Even if AI writes code, verifying output quality, fixing errors and integrating it into existing systems remain important. The focus is shifting from simple coding skills to the ability to use AI and manage the overall development process.

The benefits of the hiring rebound have not been evenly shared. From May last year to May this year, experienced workers accounted for 71 percent of the increase in developer job postings. Ads that included AI in the job title also made up 37 percent of the increase. The two groups overlap in part.

By contrast, employment conditions for entry-level developers have worsened. Stanford University's 2026 AI Index showed employment among software developers aged 22 to 25 fell about 20 percent from 2024.

Long-term employment prospects are positive. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected software developer employment will rise 10 percent to about 1.89 million in 2035 from about 1.72 million in 2025. The assessment is that the spread of AI is changing hiring standards and job structures rather than eliminating demand for developers.