In 2020 and 2021, leasing in gateway markets slowed as a percentage of overall technology industry leasing activity, as return to office was slower in most gateway markets and firms sought less expensive space in growth markets. Although leasing remains below pre-pandemic levels, gateway markets have bounced back to approximately half of all tech leases.

As focus intensifies regarding return on investment (ROI), tech companies are tapping administrative functions from markets with a lower cost of living, utilizing AI to maximize worker productivity. There’s also a renewed emphasis on skills-based hiring and internal promotions to maintain talent pipelines.

While jobs titles like software engineer continue to grow steadily, careers showing the most exponential expansion include information security analysts and lawyers, correlating with increasing security needs and evolving use of AI. Careers for computer and information research scientists, data scientists and logisticians will also grow in 2024.