Tech Unemployment Rises to 3.8% in April Amid Surging AI-Driven Layoffs

Tech-sector unemployment climbed to 3.8% in April from 3.6%, as the information sector shed 13,000 jobs despite broader U.S. job gains of 115,000. This follows accelerated May layoffs, with Cloudflare cutting 1,100 jobs (20% of workforce), Coinbase trimming 700 (14%), Upwork slashing a quarter, and PayPal planning 4,760 reductions (20%) over years—all citing AI restructuring. Building on April's cuts at Microsoft, Meta (8,000 jobs), and Snap, these shifts signal short-term US Tech 100 pressure from sentiment and headline risk, offset by potential long-term AI productivity.