Are non-tech companies really paying more than tech firms for software engineers?

Yes. According to Randstad's October 2026 research, healthcare and life sciences firms are paying up to 17% more than tech companies for software engineers, and banks are offering 13% more.

How fast are AI-related job postings growing outside the tech sector?

Job postings requiring AI capabilities grew fivefold over the past year, according to Randstad's 2026 research covering 20 million job postings across 11 countries.

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Banks and Healthcare Outbid Tech for Software Engineers

Invisipilot Team · 30 Oct 2026, 08:30 IST

Written with AI assistance from the cited sources

Banks and healthcare companies worldwide are paying significantly more than tech firms to hire software engineers, according to October 2026 research by recruitment firm Randstad. Healthcare and life sciences employers are offering up to 17% more, while banks are offering 13% more. The findings are based on a survey of 1,100 business and technology decision-makers across 11 countries, 20 million job postings, and roughly 100 million candidate profiles. The shift comes as AI-related job postings grew fivefold in a year and tech-sector layoffs accelerated.

Key points

Healthcare and life sciences firms are paying up to 17% more than tech companies for software engineers, per October 2026 Randstad research covering 11 countries.
Banks are offering 13% more than tech firms for software engineering talent, according to the same Randstad study of 1,100 decision-makers.
Job postings requiring AI skills grew fivefold over the past year, Randstad's research found.
55% of non-tech organisations surveyed by Randstad said they were recruiting workers following tech-sector layoffs.
US tech companies announced 165,925 job cuts in the first nine months of 2026, a 54% rise year-on-year, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas data published 1 October 2026.
Takeaway: Software engineers with AI skills now have growing demand from banks and healthcare firms willing to pay premiums above typical tech-sector salaries, according to Randstad's 2026 research.

Source: CNBC, 29 Oct 2026

What Happened

Banks, healthcare companies, and other non-tech employers are outbidding technology firms for software engineering talent, according to research published in October 2026 by Randstad, one of the world's largest recruitment firms. The study surveyed 1,100 business and technology decision-makers across 11 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan, and drew on 20 million job postings and roughly 100 million candidate profiles.

The Numbers

Healthcare and life sciences companies are paying up to 17% more than tech firms for software engineers, while banks are offering 13% more, the Randstad research says. Job postings requiring AI-related skills grew fivefold over the past year, according to the same report. Separately, data from consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, published on 1 October 2026, shows that US technology companies announced 165,925 job cuts in the first nine months of 2026 — a 54% increase compared with the same period in 2025.

Context and Industry Reaction

Randstad's chief executive Sander van 't Noordende told CNBC that non-tech businesses now see major potential in AI and are acting on opportunities they could not pursue before. He described a shift in investment momentum: after a large wave of spending inside the technology sector itself, demand is now moving toward companies in other industries seeking to benefit from AI adoption.

The scale of tech-sector job cuts has created a larger pool of available talent. According to the Randstad research, 55% of non-tech organisations surveyed said they were actively recruiting workers who had been laid off from tech companies. Recent cuts include Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees, Oracle reporting its workforce shrank by 21,000 in a year, Meta beginning layoffs in May 2026 affecting around 8,000 people (roughly 10% of its workforce), and payments company Block laying off more than 4,000 employees — nearly half its workforce — in February 2026.

Why It Matters for Job Seekers

If you are a software engineer affected by tech-sector layoffs, consider that banks and healthcare employers are actively recruiting from this talent pool and offering higher salaries than many tech firms, according to Randstad's research.
If you have or are building AI-related skills, the fivefold growth in AI-focused job postings suggests demand is spreading well beyond the technology industry into finance and life sciences.
If you have experience in a non-tech sector alongside software skills, employers in healthcare, banking, and similar industries may value that domain knowledge alongside technical ability as they expand AI programmes.
If you are an early-career software engineer, the shift in hiring toward non-tech industries means broadening your job search beyond technology companies could open more opportunities and potentially higher starting offers.

Audience note: This story affects software engineers and AI-skilled professionals worldwide, particularly those in or recently displaced from the technology sector.

Frequently asked questions

Are non-tech companies really paying more than tech firms for software engineers?: Yes. According to Randstad's October 2026 research, healthcare and life sciences firms are paying up to 17% more than tech companies for software engineers, and banks are offering 13% more.
How fast are AI-related job postings growing outside the tech sector?: Job postings requiring AI capabilities grew fivefold over the past year, according to Randstad's 2026 research covering 20 million job postings across 11 countries.
Are non-tech employers hiring people laid off from tech companies?: Yes. Randstad's research found that 55% of non-tech organisations surveyed said they were actively recruiting workers who had been laid off from tech-sector companies.