During a recession it is common for companies to freeze hiring. Even Google has done it before, from low levels to very very high, it's a very common and fast t

During a recession it is common for companies to freeze hiring. Even Google has done it before, from low levels to very very high, it's a very common and fast to implement step. It's a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel, but they often just don't have the information to know whether their revenues will go down, userbase might go down, maybe salaries go down and they don't want to overpay, it's not especially surprising. This is the time when starting a (slow-burn) company and being in school are big advantages, I think a lot of people go back to grad school during these sometimes. But I think a lot of people were just sort of like... too risky to assume I can get another job so I better stick with what I have. It's a scarcity mindset that favors employers for sure, but it may also be correct during a recession.