Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Saturday, July 11, 2026 – Weekend Edition (72-hour window: July 8–11)
AI Skills Now Listed in 73% of Tech Job Postings, Dice Report Finds
The share of U.S. tech job postings requiring at least one AI skill surged from 15% in January 2024 to 73% in May 2026, according to a Dice report analyzing seven million job postings. Roles with “AI” in the title jumped 173% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, while software development job postings fell 22% over the same period. Finance and banking led industry-specific growth, with tech postings rising 47% year over year versus 23% overall. Employers report difficulty finding workers who can deliver on AI, automation, and modernization projects simultaneously.
U.S. Labor Market Stays in ‘Low Hire, Low Fire’ Mode as ETI Falls for Second Month
The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index fell for the second consecutive month in June, signaling slower payroll growth ahead. Total nonfarm payrolls rose by just 57,000 in June—well below private forecasts—and April and May figures were revised downward by a combined 74,000 jobs. Initial unemployment insurance claims reached 222,000, the largest monthly average recorded so far in 2026. Nearly 22.5% of consumers say “jobs are hard to get,” the highest reading since January 2021. Despite the broad softening, demand for workers who can build and manage AI systems remains elevated, according to talent platform iCIMS.
Enterprise AI Confidence Rises Sharply in Q2 as More Firms Move Pilots to Production
Enterprise confidence in artificial intelligence is growing as more organizations move pilots to production and begin seeing returns, according to KPMG’s second-quarter AI survey of more than 2,100 senior technology decision-makers across 20 countries. In Q2 2026, 71% of organizations said they are making good progress toward a fully integrated AI-human workforce, up from 60% in Q1. Nearly 24% say they are embedding AI into daily workflows, up from 13% earlier this year. Organizations that establish C-suite accountability for AI outcomes achieve return on investment at three times the rate of those without such structures, the survey found.
Dairy Queen Names Shake Shack Veteran Phil Crawford Executive Vice President and CTO
International Dairy Queen has appointed Phil Crawford as executive vice president and chief technology officer, overseeing IT and retail technology for the chain’s 7,800 restaurants worldwide. Crawford, who previously served as global head of food, beverage and hospitality at payments platform Adyen, succeeds retiring CTO Kevin Baartman. Crawford’s resume includes technology leadership roles at Shake Shack, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Yard House and Godiva Chocolatier. Dairy Queen is currently piloting and expanding a drive-thru voice AI ordering system with Presto at select franchisee locations, following positive results from tests at company-owned units.
Liberty Mutual CIO Warns Companies to Fix Infrastructure Before Chasing AI Features
Liberty Mutual Insurance is preparing its core systems for enterprise-scale AI adoption after more than a decade of cloud migration, EVP and CIO Andrew Palmer told CIO Dive. The insurer has moved 85% of its workloads to the cloud and is building a Model Context Protocol abstraction layer over its mainframe data in partnership with IBM. The company also employs an AI FinOps team to monitor token usage by teams and link use cases to business outcomes. Palmer cautioned that enterprises skipping foundational infrastructure work in pursuit of AI features would face consequences: “If you’re trying to just chase the shiny toy…that’s going to catch up with you.”
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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