I'd wage it's the post-mania return to median. This is how job markets tend to look outside of our comfy tech bubble.
Even assuming rates will start to drop H2 this year and cost of capital will be lower, some of the new-found productivity demand will be consumed by maturing AI tools.
Even assuming rates will start to drop H2 this year and cost of capital will be lower, some of the new-found productivity demand will be consumed by maturing AI tools.
tl;dr this looks like the new normal.