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In 2026, the German IT job market is sending two signals that, at first glance, seem to contradict each other. On the one hand, media outlets such as SPIEGEL report on computer scientists who, after submitting over a hundred applications, still haven’t found a job and speak of outright “application burnout.” On the other hand, the digital industry association Bitkom reports around 109,000 unfilled IT positions and an average time to fill of nearly eight months.
Both statements are true. The market is not relaxed, but rather segmented. Companies that continue to recruit using the same approach as in 2021 and 2022 are looking in the wrong places today. And professionals and executives who rely on the qualifications they had back then are applying in a market segment that is currently shrinking. It’s worth it for both sides to take a closer look at where supply and demand are actually diverging.
In July 2026, the Federal Employment Agency recorded 66,620 people registered as unemployed in the occupational group “Computer Science and Other ICT Occupations.” The number of job seekers reached a new record high of 100,000 for the first time. Both figures represent all-time highs.
However, the Bitkom study report on the labor market for IT specialists, which surveyed 855 companies, paints a different picture: There are 109,000 open positions, and 85 percent of companies report a shortage. Only four percent cite an oversupply. Another finding is noteworthy: Roughly one in four companies receives virtually no applications for advertised IT positions. Thus, the failure to fill these positions is not due to a lack of qualified candidates, but rather to a lack of applicants in the first place.
According to the association’s assessment, the decline from 149,000 open positions in 2023 to 109,000 today is attributable less to a growing supply of skilled workers than to the economic slowdown and geopolitical uncertainties. Companies are holding back on new hires. The structural demand remains.
The practical conclusion is this: There is no longer a uniform IT job market. There is a shrinking market for interchangeable implementation roles and a market for specialized roles that remains overheated.
This change is having the most significant impact on those just starting their careers. In the past, junior developers often grew into their roles on software teams by taking on simple tasks. Today, these tasks can be largely automated. They include basic implementation work, writing tests, system administration, and user management. Whereas in the past three junior developers would learn by working on a codebase, today several AI agents are supervised by a single experienced developer.
The numbers support this impression. Analyses of the labor market in 2026 show that entry-level positions are shrinking, while skilled workers with in-demand profiles remain in high demand. According to Bitkom, about one in four companies expects to cut jobs through the use of AI; 16 percent expect that positions that were already unfillable will become redundant. At the same time, a significant proportion of respondents predict the emergence of new job profiles.
For executives, this presents a strategic risk that isn’t immediately reflected in quarterly figures: Companies that completely eliminate entry-level positions today will have no senior-level talent in-house in five to seven years. However, the seniority that the market is currently so urgently seeking isn’t developed at a desk, but through projects and responsibility.
The ability to write clean code has not lost its value. It has become a fundamental requirement rather than a unique selling point. Market analyses for the year 2026 now clearly distinguish between stable and growing areas of expertise.
Stable but lacking growth potential: traditional software development in Java and C++, networking, database administration, project management, and enterprise architecture. These roles remain in demand but offer limited salary growth.
Significantly rising demand: AI engineering and MLOps, LLM orchestration and agent architectures, cloud-native development, DevSecOps, data governance and data engineering, as well as cybersecurity with a focus on NIS2 and AI security. The EU AI Act also creates new mandatory roles such as AI compliance officers and AI representatives.
One crucial point is often overlooked in the debate: What’s needed are not people who can operate AI, but people who can take responsibility for AI’s results. They must make architectural decisions, justify trade-offs between model quality and cost, translate regulatory requirements into technical specifications, and assess when a system is ready for production. Added to this are competencies that are traditionally considered “soft skills” but are now “hard” selection criteria: the ability to communicate effectively with other departments, the ability to critically evaluate machine-generated results, and adaptability.
Rewrite job descriptions. A job posting that lists a series of frameworks describes a role that is increasingly being automated. Instead, describe areas of responsibility and the impact of the work.
Train employees internally rather than relying solely on external recruitment. According to McKinsey estimates, internal reskilling is 30 to 50 percent less expensive than a comparable new hire when onboarding, turnover, and time to productivity are factored in. Support programs such as the Qualification Opportunities Act remain largely untapped.
Reach out proactively instead of relying on job postings. When one in four companies receives hardly any applications in response to IT job postings, the job ad has failed as a standalone tool. Specialized professionals in AI, security, or regulated development are typically already employed and will only consider a new opportunity after being approached directly and with a technically sound pitch.
Consciously maintain the junior talent pipeline. A small number of entry-level positions with strong mentoring support are an investment in the availability of our own senior-level talent.
For candidates, the focus is shifting from breadth to depth. Three particularly effective approaches have emerged:
Proven track record over certifications. Concrete projects in which a system has been put into production, secured, or scaled carry more weight in the selection process than a list of completed courses.
Domain expertise as a differentiator. Software development in regulated environments, such as those governed by IEC 62304 in medical technology or GAMP 5 in the pharmaceutical sector, cannot be automated overnight. Those who combine technical depth with industry knowledge compete against a significantly smaller pool of candidates.
A career change within IT rather than away from IT. The path from traditional development toward data engineering, platforms, security, or MLOps is generally shorter and more sustainable than a complete career change to a different industry.
Artificial intelligence will not eliminate the demand for IT professionals. It will merely shift it. While routine implementation work is losing market value, roles involving responsibility, architecture, security, and regulatory expertise are gaining value. The shortage of skilled workers and rising IT unemployment are therefore not a contradiction, but two sides of the same trend.
This divergence is expected to widen further in the coming years, particularly as additional requirements under the EU AI Act come into effect. Companies that redesign their roles now and train their employees internally will gain a structural advantage over competitors who continue to search a market that no longer exists in its current form.
If you’re looking for qualified and motivated specialists and executives for your company, we can support you with our specialized network. Especially in the IT sector today, it’s no longer the reach of a job posting that determines hiring success, but rather direct access to the profiles of people who are already employed. This includes software and platform architects, AI and MLOps specialists, security managers, and developers for regulated environments.
For over 15 years, the recruitment consultants at BESTMINDS have been filling vacancies in the medical technology, healthcare, life sciences / pharma, IT / media, and energy / utility sectors with a wealth of expertise and dedication. Our consultants understand the technical and regulatory requirements of these markets from their own professional experience and can engage with candidates on an equal footing. We’ll find the right candidates for you in a fair, loyal, and discreet manner. Contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation so we can fill your vacancies quickly and effectively.
