In January, Jon Bach was laid off from his position as a director at eBay after 13 years of service. Although he was disappointed, he remained calm, believing that with an unemployment rate near a five-decade low and his extensive 30 years of experience in the tech industry, finding a new job would not be too difficult. However, after applying for 135 positions, he faced significant challenges: 91 nonresponses, 42 rejections, two callbacks, and no job offers. "I don't know what's going on," he expressed. "I've been doing this for a minute, and I've proven my value. And then you apply to one place, two places, 10 places, 50 places, 135 places. And you go, 'Am I the guy I think I am?'"Despite positive economic indicators suggesting a healthy labor market, many white-collar professionals share similar frustrations. As previously noted, the job market has effectively divided into two tiers; while hiring remains strong for lower-earning positions, it has sharply declined for those earning six figures or more. This phenomenon has led to what is being termed a "white-collar recession."Recent data from LinkedIn highlights which white-collar jobs are most affected. Traditional downturn sectors like human resources have seen hiring drop by 28% since 2018, while marketing roles have decreased by 23%. Surprisingly, the tech sector has also experienced significant hiring reductions: IT jobs are down by 27%, quality assurance by 32%, and product management by 23%. In program and project management—Bach's area—recruitment has fallen by 25%. Even engineering positions, once deemed recession-proof, have declined by 26%.Conversely, certain professions are faring better. Military and protective services have only seen a 6% drop in hiring; community and social services are down just 3%, and healthcare roles have actually increased by 10% due to staffing shortages exacerbated by an aging population and high levels of burnout among workers.Kory Kantenga, an economist at LinkedIn, notes that while some sectors are experiencing a hiring slowdown, the impact is particularly severe in specific areas. The tech industry's hiring freeze can be attributed to companies that over-hired during the post-pandemic boom and are now reducing staff through layoffs or hiring freezes. Additionally, many existing employees are choosing to remain in their current roles due to a desire for stability.AI advancements may also be influencing hiring trends. Tools like ChatGPT allow tech workers to complete tasks more efficiently, potentially reducing the need for additional hires. For instance, AI-assisted programs have been shown to work significantly faster than their counterparts without such support.The hiring process itself has also become slower; it now takes an average of 66 days to make a hire compared to 52 days in mid-2021. This delay is paradoxical given the abundance of qualified candidates; companies tend to review more applications before making decisions.Job seekers are increasingly frustrated by the sheer volume of applications required just to receive a few callbacks. For example, Santiago Rodriguez applied for 669 positions and created a dashboard to track his progress. The ease of applying through platforms like LinkedIn leads many candidates to submit numerous applications in hopes of standing out—a situation that overwhelms employers and results in many candidates feeling ignored.Despite these challenges, there are signs that the worst may be behind us. According to CompTIA data, new tech job postings have rebounded from a low of 144,000 at the end of last year to about 223,000 openings now—approaching pre-pandemic levels of around 322,000 jobs. "We're slowly recovering," said Art Zeile, CEO of Dice.Bach remains hopeful about returning to work: "I think a lot of people like me are eager to get back to work and show companies that we're worth taking a chance on."