RALEIGH – Even as the Triangle labor market saw an increase in the aggregate total of job postings this week, the opposite happened in the region’s entrepreneurial economy.

Startup job advertisements dropped – again.  That makes the most recent decline the eighth consecutive week where openings in the startup economy have decreased.

Yet that doesn’t necessarily mean that the region’s startups are doomed, multiple investors told WRAL TechWire last week.  Many local – and national – investors will look to the Triangle’s startup economy in 2023, some predicted.  And multiple investors told WRAL TechWire they themselves have plans to continue to invest in startups in the region during 2023.

Good news, job seekers: Triangle job openings again on the rise

What’s happening

Venture capitalists are also reporting that they continue to have “dry powder,” meaning that there is capital that would be looking to find a home in 2023.  That includes nearly $8 million in new funding raised by Jurassic Capital, as the Durham-based firm disclosed in an SEC filing and confirmed to WRAL TechWire last week.

“As Growth Equity investors, we invest heavily in a smaller number of companies,” Kevin Mosley of Jurassic Capital told WRAL TechWire last week.  “We tend to invest in relatively capital efficient businesses up front, so our investment thesis and portfolio company playbook hasn’t changed much even in the down market.”

“There’s still a surplus of dry powder with investors that has to go somewhere,” Mosley said.

Despite venture deals slowing, NC deal making expected to be resilient in 2023, VCs say

With new funding, startups may ramp up their headcount to spur growth.  And starting or expanding a company in a period of slow economic growth could be a good bet for startup founders and for investors.

Still, for now, the data show that there are now just 16,078 startup job postings based in the Triangle’s entrepreneurial economy, though there may be overlapping postings across the 15 job boards tracked by WRAL TechWire.

That’s down by 5.5%, or nearly 1,000 job openings, from a month ago.