Significant Decline in C-Level IT Job Openings

The availability of C-level positions in the IT sector has seen a dramatic reduction in 2024, with job postings dropping by nearly 50% when compared to the previous year. According to an analysis conducted by the recruiting firm Index, only 944 top executive positions were advertised in 2024, down from 1,749 in 2023. This decline brings the number of available C-level roles back to pre-pandemic levels.

Index's CEO, Jürgen Grenz, attributed this downturn to the challenging economic environment, which has caused companies to prioritize sales-related issues over changes in IT leadership. As a result, many organizations are postponing the filling of IT executive roles.

In addition to the C-level openings, the overall number of IT job postings across all hierarchical levels has also decreased. The total count fell from 868,000 positions in 2023 to approximately 780,000 in 2024, representing a 10% decline. This cooling trend in the IT job market has been corroborated by other reports, including the recent MINT autumn report from the German Economic Institute.

The analysis by Index revealed that the decline in executive job postings is not confined to the IT sector alone; it reflects a broader trend across various industries. Nationwide, companies and public institutions posted only 45,000 positions for executives and board members in 2024, a decrease of nearly 20% from the previous year. Companies are exercising caution and are less inclined to fill senior roles with new hires.

Previously, there had been a multi-year trend of growth in top executive positions across all sectors. For example, in 2023, over 56,000 such roles were publicly advertised, while in 2022 and 2021, there were 51,000 and approximately 44,000 postings, respectively.

It is important to note that the Index analysis focused solely on publicly advertised top executive roles. Many C-level positions are often filled internally or through personal networks and headhunters, which may not be reflected in these statistics. The analysis utilized data from 201 print media outlets, 330 online job boards, the job portal of the Federal Employment Agency, and 900,000 company websites.