Decline in IT Job Demand Amidst Unique Opportunities

The demand for IT professionals has seen a notable decline in the second quarter of 2026, particularly impacting the IT security sector. According to the Hays Skills Index, the overall demand has dropped significantly, with a marked decrease for IT security specialists.

The Hays Skills Index, which evaluates the demand for professionals in Germany on a quarterly basis, reported a 26 percentage point decrease in total demand compared to the previous quarter, now standing at 36 percent. This reflects a broader trend affecting the IT industry, where the index plummeted by 37 percentage points to 59 percent. Notably, in the first quarter of 2026, the demand was described as "above-average stable." The current demand is still 59 percent higher than it was in the first quarter of 2015.

Despite the overall downturn, IT security specialists remain the most sought-after professionals, boasting an index value of 373 percent. However, the drop in demand for this category was particularly severe, with a decrease of 136 percentage points noted by Hays. SAP developers also retain a strong demand at 196 percent, yet they experienced a decline of 109 percentage points from the previous quarter.

The demand for other IT roles, however, has taken a significant hit. IT consultants saw a decrease of 55 percentage points, while IT administrators and both IT architects and developers experienced declines of 49 and 31 percentage points, respectively. Mobile developers, along with Java and .Net developers, now find their demand well below the levels recorded at the beginning of 2015.

Interestingly, the only IT role that reported an increase in demand during the second quarter of 2026 was that of database developers, which rose by nine percentage points to an index of 322 percent. Andreas Sauer, the Technology Division Manager at Hays, attributes this growth to the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence (AI).

"Many companies are realizing that AI cannot be built on inadequate data structures," Sauer explained. To effectively utilize AI, businesses must first invest in robust system and data infrastructures that can support these technologies.

The Hays Skills Index reflects the broader employment landscape, which has seen the number of unemployed individuals in Germany rise to over three million as of July 2026. The national unemployment rate currently stands at 6.4 percent, with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) indicating a lack of positive employment outlook for the first time in a long while.

IAB analyst Enzo Weber cites negative factors such as the economic crisis and demographic decline as contributing to this situation. Additionally, recent escalations in the Middle East and subsequent oil price increases are further burdens on the job market.

Despite these declines, a skills shortage theoretically persists, as reported by boerse-express.com. There are 166 job openings for every 100 unemployed individuals, indicating that small businesses are particularly struggling to fill existing vacancies.