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Cloud and DevOps Skills Lead U.S. Tech Hiring Demand, New Study Finds
17 Aug 2026
Analysis of 850,000 U.S. tech job postings suggests employers continue to prioritise cloud infrastructure, DevOps and core software tools over trend-driven technologies.
Vilnius, Lithuania — August 2026 — Cloud infrastructure and DevOps skills remain among the most sought-after capabilities in the U.S. technology job market, according to new research from Oxylabs.
The company analysed around 850,000 U.S. tech job postings published between January 2025 and March 2026 to identify the tools and platforms employers request most often.
The findings show that demand is concentrated around the technologies that keep software, data platforms and AI systems running at scale.
AWS Leads Employer Demand
Amazon Web Services (AWS) appeared in around 30% of all job postings analysed, making it the single most frequently requested tool.
It was followed by:
- Microsoft Azure — 24%
- Git — 21%
- Excel — 15%
- Google Cloud Platform — 14%
- Kubernetes — 14%
- Docker — 13%
- Power BI — 9%
- Terraform — 8%
- Tableau — 7%
Nearly 42% of all listings required knowledge of at least one major cloud platform, including AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform.
AWS and Azure were also the most commonly paired cloud technologies, appearing together in 15% of job descriptions.
Infrastructure Skills Outpace Online Hype
One of the clearest conclusions from the study is that employers continue to favour core infrastructure skills over tools that may receive greater attention on social media or at technology conferences.
Cloud and data infrastructure platforms accounted for 47% of all tool mentions in the dataset.
DevOps and developer tools, including Git, Docker, Kubernetes and Terraform, represented another 30%.
Business intelligence and analytics platforms such as Power BI and Tableau accounted for 18%.
The data suggests that professionals looking to strengthen their employability may benefit from mastering cloud and infrastructure fundamentals before focusing on more specialised technologies.
Andrius Kūkšta, Tech Lead in the R&D team at Oxylabs, said the findings confirmed that cloud, infrastructure and data skills remain central to employer demand.
Excel Is Still Highly Relevant
One of the more surprising findings is the continued importance of Microsoft Excel.
Despite growing interest in AI, automation and advanced developer tools, Excel appeared in 15% of tech job listings, more frequently than Kubernetes, Docker or Terraform.
This highlights how traditional business tools remain deeply embedded in modern digital workplaces.
Technical roles increasingly require employees to move between software development, cloud platforms, data analysis and business operations rather than relying exclusively on highly specialised tools.
Tech Hiring Accelerated in Early 2026
The study also found a significant increase in hiring activity during the beginning of 2026.
The first quarter of 2026 represented 39% of all job postings in the dataset, around 3.7 times the number recorded during the same period in 2025.
Software engineering accounted for the largest share of roles at 38%.
Data Science and AI/ML represented 14%, followed by technology and engineering management at 14% and DevOps and cloud roles at 12%.
The findings suggest that, even during wider labour-market uncertainty, companies continue to recruit for the infrastructure needed to support digital operations and AI deployment.
Which U.S. States Are Hiring the Most?
The data also reveals significant geographic differences.
California accounted for 13% of all tech job postings, followed by Texas at 8% and New York at 5%.
Virginia, however, stood out on a per-capita basis.
The state recorded almost three times as many technology jobs per person as the national average, which Oxylabs links partly to Virginia’s concentration of major data centres and cloud infrastructure.
Regional preferences were visible in cloud-platform demand as well.
AWS led across most U.S. states, while Azure was particularly prominent in parts of the Upper Midwest and South, including Minnesota, Indiana and Tennessee.
Tech Skills Are Spreading Beyond Technology Companies
Technology companies generated around 45% of the positions analysed, but demand for digital skills extended well beyond the core tech sector.
Professional services represented 17% of hiring demand, while finance and manufacturing each accounted for 8%.
Media and entertainment companies also showed significant demand for cloud-native skills, particularly AWS and Git.
This reflects a broader change in the labour market.
Cloud computing, software development and data infrastructure are increasingly becoming foundational skills across industries rather than capabilities restricted to Silicon Valley technology companies.
What This Means for Cities and Workers
For cities competing to attract digital employers and skilled workers, the findings have wider economic implications.
Technology ecosystems increasingly depend on access to people who understand cloud infrastructure, DevOps, software engineering and data systems.
Cities with universities, training providers and workforce programmes aligned with these skills may be better positioned to attract technology companies and support local digital economies.
The research also offers a practical message for professionals.
Rather than attempting to learn every new technology, workers may benefit from focusing first on the fundamental tools that repeatedly appear in real job descriptions.
Cloud platforms, version control, containers and data tools may not always generate the most excitement.
But according to the Oxylabs analysis, they remain the technologies employers are most consistently willing to hire for.
About Oxylabs
Oxylabs is a web intelligence and proxy technology company founded in 2015.
The company works with businesses using publicly available web data for research, analytics and intelligence applications.
Oxylabs Research analyses public web data to identify wider technological, economic and social trends.
More information: https://oxylabs.io/
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Sara Srifi
Sara is a Software Engineering and Business student with a passion for astronomy, cultural studies, and human-centered storytelling. She explores the quiet intersections between science, identity, and imagination, reflecting on how space, art, and society shape the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Her writing draws on curiosity and lived experience to bridge disciplines and spark dialogue across cultures.
