The market consensus for some time has been that cloud infrastructure earnings reports are leading indicators for the software market overall. And with Microsoft reporting Azure saw accelerated YoY growth in Q1, we took a look at opened search volume by industry. Sure enough, newly opened executive searches were up 20% YoY in technology last quarter—a marked acceleration from Q4’s 7% YoY growth. Since Q4 2023, YoY search volume has improved in the sector, in part a reflection of no longer lapping the most demanding comps, but also in part due to steadying demand for talent. Case in point: The last six months have seen the most newly opened executive searches in technology since mid-2022 (Q2 and Q3), just past peak demand cycles. That demand puts technology at 80% of its peak. A year ago, it was less than 70%.