The other side to this is that businesses tend to follow the leaders of the industry. So if engineer salaries were getting too high, they start a "freeze" which

The other side to this is that businesses tend to follow the leaders of the industry. So if engineer salaries were getting too high, they start a "freeze" which then cascades down to medium then small companies. However, the goal wasn't actually a freeze, it was to lower salaries, increase the pool of candidates and they can then find talent better. In a sense it is manipulation of the labor market and businesses that just follow the trends. On the labor side, if talent is looking for work right now, they might accept less or even stay around longer during change in fear. For VCs, this allows some time again for lowering investments, letting others play out and decreasing valuations. While there is a slowdown and some macro market conditions, those are always exploited for companies looking to contain labor costs and increase availability. There are some geopolitical elements going into it as well currently but in that case really it would make sense to hire more as the pools have shrunk due to division. It is just another game really, there is no slow down or "freeze" there is a tightening, and the goal is constraining costs and increasing the pool of talent. If I was in charge of hiring right now, I'd look at this current market as a huge time to increase hiring if you are set for multiple years. If a round is up soon, you might have to pull back. The "freeze" is a buy low moment of the market.