If you were looking for work in the IT or tech sector in December, you probably already know that it was a quiet time.
The good news is that January and February are the best months for job activity, both for job seekers looking for roles and employers ready to hire.
Like most industries, recruitment in tech and IT doesn’t happen evenly throughout the calendar year. Hiring activity tends to cluster around budget cycles, project timelines, employee turnover and organisational planning.
In Australia, this pattern is further shaped by the fact that many large companies that have offices here are headquartered overseas and operate on different financial years – which can actually benefit both job seekers and hirers.
Understanding these rhythms can help:
- Job seekers time their search more strategically
- Employers and recruiters
plan recruitment drives for better outcomes
Before we get into practical advice, let’s take a look at what the market data tells us.
What the data says about hiring cycles
A 2025 report from
Jobs and Skills Australia found that in February recruitment activity bounced back, with 49% of businesses actively looking to hire. February has long been a critical month for hiring, offering reassurance to anyone discouraged by December’s slowdown.
SEEK’s seasonality reports reinforce this pattern and show that not all months are equal.
The dilemma for many job seekers and hirers is that the while job ads peak in January, it is also when the most number of people are looking. So, more jobs but more competition for spots.
Another important window appears in August. SEEK data shows that corporate and government employers generally post more ads in August than any other month while candidate competition is lower than in January.
The August spike is closely tied to the new financial year, when governments and businesses reassess their staffing needs and staff move on after performance reviews and bonus cycles.
SEEK also notes that the strong rebound of job ads in January remains above average until April – around Easter time.
Together, these insights point to a familiar rhythm in the Australian tech and IT job market - predictable peaks, troughs, and windows of opportunity.
What this means for job seekers
If you are actively looking for a new job -whether due to redundancy or simply exploring better opportunities - timing matters.
- January/February is a good time to be looking as there is a high volume of roles, but there is plenty of competition.
- April/May is a good time with fewer applicants per role, making it a strong period for IT and tech professionals.
- July/August can be desirable with another ad spike as companies look to plan the rest of the financial year.
- Late November
is when
some roles appear, often targeting January start dates.
That said, tech is a fast-changing world, some of these hiring patterns hold, but there are some caveats.
Not all IT roles follow the broad labour market trends. Highly specialty roles such as cyber security, AI/ML engineers and cloud infrastructure experts are often hired outside of seasonality, depending on project urgency, contract needs, or sudden demand.
Smaller firms and startups may also hire opportunistically. Unlike large enterprises with formal budget cycles, startups often hire when funding hits, or when a project suddenly scales which may mean “out-of-season” hiring. Staying alert year-round still matters.
Job hunters also need to understand that a company hiring an individual can take several months - taking into account the time to advertise, short list, interview and secure a candidate.
What employers and hiring managers should consider
For employers, awareness of these cycles can significantly improve hiring outcomes. Our advice for employers is that they should consider the peaks and troughs of the IT industry.
Many companies can be triggered by economic conditions such as unemployment rates, interest rates and business sentiment. That means even “good” months may feel slow if economic headwinds are strong.
- Plan key hiring drives for the start of the new year (January/February) or start of the financial year (June/July). If you have new headcount, projects, or expansion plans for the new fiscal year, launching recruitment in June gives you the best chance to hit the ground running.
- Use April and May strategically. Remember there is lower candidate competition. For roles where you want high quality over quantity, for example senior devs, specialists, advertising in April–May might yield better quality applicants, since fewer people apply per ad yet sufficient roles are listed.
- Avoid depending on the Christmas/New Year holidays for hiring.
Even if you post jobs, candidate responses and hiring momentum often stall because many people are on leave or mentally disengaged.
- If you do need people early in the New Year, plan ahead. Advertise in October/November to give you enough lead time, especially as there will no doubt be an onboarding process or training or even security clearance processes.
The bottom line
Hiring and job-search activity in tech follows clear seasonal patterns. The upshot is to take into account the hiring/advertising cycles for the best results. For many companies and roles, January/February, April–May and July–August are the most promising offering a mix of fresh budgets, reasonable ad-volume and optimal candidate-to-job ratios.
That said, in a fast-moving, project-driven field such as tech, rigid adherence to “seasonal hiring windows” can backfire. The most effective hiring strategy combines awareness of these cycles with flexibility, meaning leveraging good windows, when possible, but staying ready to hire whenever the need arises, especially for specialised talent.
Ready to make the hiring cycle work for you?
Whether you’re a tech professional planning your next move or an employer preparing to hire, having the right timing and the right partner makes all the difference.
Talk to the team at Paxus to get tailored market insights and support that aligns with your goals.
