For the types of problems perl "regexps" don't solve well, people who need to solve that particular problem fast are free to use other tools. If a lexer isn't enough, add a parser: regexps are for ...

Python still leads despite a dip; C edges past C++ for #2; SQL re-enters the top 10 as Perl drops out after last month’s ...

Perl may be increasing in popularity because Perl 5 is consistently updated, but the exact reason for its rise is difficult to pinpoint.