Manus drops traditional coding tests for four-hour AI task; US software engineer hiring down about 53% from 2022 peak
Key points
- Since March, Manus has had engineering candidates solve a real problem in four hours instead of a coding test
- Citing Live Data Technologies, U.S. firms hired about 113,000 software engineers from May 2025 to April 2026, versus 239,000 in 2022
- The drop is about 53%; per TrueUp, engineering openings grew only 2.5% over the past year
Manus co-founder Tao Zhang said that since March the company has had engineering candidates solve a real problem using Manus in four hours, then review the process, instead of taking a traditional coding test. Lenny Rachitsky's report, citing Live Data Technologies, found that U.S. firms hired about 113,000 software engineers from May 2025 to April 2026, versus 239,000 in 2022, a drop of about 53%. TrueUp data shows engineering job openings grew only 2.5% over the past year.
Original report: InfoQ.cn ↗Edited with AI assistance. Facts are based on official sources and original reports.