High-skilled Job Report for November 2025
Erik is a data scientist, management consultant, and Toptal’s Chief Economist. He is a former senior analyst at NERA Economic Consulting and co-founded the global venture capital fund Firstrock Capital. Erik holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard.
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Table of contents
This is an overview of major findings. Download the full report for more insights.
Key Highlights
High-skilled Job Report for November 2025
Each month, Toptal analyzes job market data relevant to Toptal, the world’s largest fully remote workforce, and the Toptal Talent Network, which includes more than 20,000 highly vetted professionals in technology, design, finance, marketing, strategic consulting, and more. In addition to monitoring broader global data for month-over-month and year-over-year trends, Toptal has designed a unique scoring system, the Toptal Market Strength Score, which represents specific demand for experienced remote and hybrid technology professional services personnel. The scores are based on new job postings and advertised compensation. This month’s report also includes proprietary data from We Work Remotely, the world’s largest remote job board; Toptal has exclusive access to this information. Our High-skilled Job Report for November 2025 includes the following key findings:
- Global demand for remote and hybrid technology and professional services talent with five or more years of experience—as measured by new job postings and advertised compensation—decreased by 13% month over month, reflecting ongoing volatility and short-term disruptions linked to the US government shutdown and the US Thanksgiving holiday period.
- The year-over-year view is more positive. Demand for remote and hybrid technology and professional services talent increased by 2% year over year, for a Toptal Market Strength Score of Moderate.
- For the general job market, however, the story is reversed: Month-over-month trends for the broader job market were generally positive. November saw an increase in job postings and a decrease in layoffs versus October, indicating potential stabilization after a prolonged slump.
- Year-over-year trends in the wider job market were less encouraging, with layoffs elevated and postings down versus 2024.
- Marketing and product management were the areas of expertise that experienced the most growth, with year-over-year demand surging 18% and 16%, respectively, for Toptal Market Strength Scores of Strong.
- Demand for designers and information security experts, however, scored Poor, declining 60% and 40% year over year, respectively. These datasets are small and prone to volatility, and the declines reduce to 33% and 17%, respectively, when demand for on-site roles is considered in the data.
- Highly skilled, senior-level workers continue to outperform generalists or entry-level professionals. This segment remains the most resilient and continues to show stronger demand relative to the overall market.
- Volatility in the broader technology job market is likely due in part to AI. According to Toptal leaders, whose observations are grounded in ongoing conversations with clients, AI is a driving force behind much of the market volatility. Rapid adoption of AI is reducing demand for certain roles while increasing demand for senior, versatile professionals who can pair domain expertise with AI fluency, product insight, and cross-functional agility. In the November report, Toptal’s leadership team shares insights on how this is playing out for each area of expertise, based on what they are seeing from our global client base.
- In the US and most other large global economies, demand has slowed for some skill sets and surged for others, as organizations shift from volume hiring to leaner teams of versatile, senior professionals who pair deep domain expertise with AI fluency, business acumen, and cross-functional agility.
“The month-over-month analysis highlights both the typical volatility of shorter-term metrics and the underlying volatility of the current moment,” says Erik Stettler, Toptal’s Chief Economist and the author of Toptal’s High-skilled Remote Job Report for November 2025. “The analysis also highlights divergent positive and negative trends that may seem contradictory, but have the same root cause: the instability caused by rapidly changing technology and macro forces, as companies recalibrate hiring and workforce strategy. This turbulence presents significant challenges for organizations seeking strategic clarity and for professionals seeking employment, but moments of change also create opportunities. Companies that foster optionality through rapid experimentation will be rewarded, as will individuals who can connect their skills to broader business strategy.”
Remote Work Trends
Demand for Experienced Remote and Hybrid Talent Faces Short-term Decline, but Retains Long-term Positive Momentum
Despite seasonal disruptions and expected volatility, the market for experienced remote and hybrid technology and professional services talent remains resilient in the long term. In November, demand—as measured by job postings and advertised compensation—fell 13% month over month but rose 2% year over year, for Toptal Market Strength Scores of Moderate.
Impact of AI
AI Adoption Continues to Reshape Talent Needs Across Industries
In their conversations with clients, Toptal leaders are finding that artificial intelligence is the defining force influencing demand and hiring patterns across technology and professional services. As organizations transition from experimentation to implementation, companies are rethinking their operating models, product strategies, and workforce structures. As they do so, companies are prioritizing leaner, senior teams with deep expertise and the ability to integrate AI into business operations.
“In every discipline, organizations shifted from reactive approaches to proactive, intentional efforts designed to support sustainable, technology-driven growth in 2026,” says Hari Mahadevan, AVP of Talent Operations at Toptal. “A significant share of demand for technology and professional services personnel focused on strengthening infrastructure through scalable systems and better cross-functional coordination. We saw similar patterns emerge across functions: Senior leaders demanded clearer value, while talent was expected to be more flexible than ever, moving comfortably between strategy, implementation, and hands-on experimentation with new AI tools. Even traditionally seasonal sectors like marketing showed signals influenced not just by calendar dynamics but by macro uncertainty and a heightened focus on measurable outcomes.”
Toptal leaders interviewed for this report note increasing demand for professionals who can integrate:
- Strong domain knowledge
- AI and data fluency
- Product and business insight
- Cross-functional collaboration and delivery experience
These capabilities are emerging as the new baseline for top-tier talent in an AI-accelerated economy.
Demand Overview
Toptal Market Strength Scores for 10 Key Areas of Expertise
Toptal Market Strength Scores are based on job listings and compensation for remote and hybrid roles in technology and professional services, as reported by Lightcast. A negative change greater than -15% equals a score of Poor, a change between -15% and +15% equals a score of Moderate, and a positive change greater than +15% equals a score of Strong.
MoM Market Strength Score | YoY Market Strength Score | |
Data Science Experts | -15% | 0% |
Designers | -35% | -60% |
Developers | -26% | -4% |
Finance Consultants | -25% | -4% |
Information Security Experts | +27% | -40% |
Management Consultants | -18% | -15% |
Marketing Experts | -7% | +18% |
Product Managers | -7% | +16% |
Project Managers | +2% | -2% |
Sales Experts | -10% | -5% |
Detailed insights for each area of expertise are available in the full report.
Global Job Market
Large Economies Experience Month-Over-Month Increases in Job Postings, but Most Remain Down Year Over Year
New job postings for all positions and levels of experience showed small month-over-month increases in the US and most other large economies with comparable data. However, all countries except Canada experienced a decline year over year.
Canada remained the country with the strongest job growth by far, as measured by new openings posted, with a 7% year-over-year increase in the number of open roles across all industries and seniority levels. Canada also performed best month over month with an increase of 6%.
France experienced the smallest increase in new jobs posted month over month (.7%) and the largest decline year over year (-14.7%). These job posting numbers include roles in all professional areas and at all seniority levels, as well as across all work models (remote, hybrid, and on-site).
Methodology
Toptal’s Analysis of the Data
Toptal calculates month-over-month and year-over-year market strength scores based on the change in new job postings and median advertised compensation for technology and professional services personnel with at least five years of experience, as reported by Lightcast. Other trends are calculated based on data from Hacker News, Indeed, and We Work Remotely, as noted throughout the report.
Given that Toptal itself is a fully distributed company, and the Toptal Talent Network is a remote workforce, we filter job posts and compensation for remote and hybrid positions whenever possible, and Toptal Market Strength Scores are specifically applicable to this flexible work market.
Please note: Some of the source data changes in real time and may shift slightly between early December 2025, when the calculations were done, and the time of publication. This is common with indices of this kind and typically does not materially affect the trends and major findings.
Some parts of the report have been redacted for public release. If you are interested in the unredacted version please reach out to insights@toptal.com.