In the middle of 2020, not long after the Covid-19 pandemic began sparking layoffs across the country, Joe Price watched as eight members of the recruiting department at an automotive software company he worked for lost their jobs. It turned out to be a fleeting downturn in his field.

By the end of the year, tech companies were bombarding Price with so many calls and messages trying to hire him that he bought a second phone just so he could more easily work in peace. Now working as a contractor for cybersecurity company Venafi, Price said his pay rate has doubled over the past year after stagnating for much of the prior decade. And his health insurance premiums, which used to cost him more than $1,000 a month, are now covered by Venafi—a rare perk for contractors.

“How I interact with my employers has completely changed,” Price said.