Despite an overall contraction in the labor market, the demand for professionals with AI skills in the UK has reached unprecedented levels. Since the beginning of 2026, job vacancies across the country have decreased by 11%, but the percentage of job postings mentioning artificial intelligence has surged to 9.4% — the highest on record, according to Bloomberg, citing data from the job search platform Indeed.

AI technologies and related tools are increasingly featured in job descriptions within HR, marketing, finance, and management sectors, where the overall number of job offers is declining. Experts have termed this phenomenon a "two-speed labor market" within the knowledge economy: while employers are hiring less, they are actively seeking candidates with practical AI skills.

The trend is also evident in job seeker behavior, with the number of searches for AI-related positions increasing sevenfold since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

Hiring Growth Limited to Specific Sectors

According to Indeed, the activity of British employers is now 32% below the levels seen in February 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, Europe has experienced a 5% increase in job vacancies compared to pre-crisis levels, while the United States has seen a 2% rise.

At the same time, the growth rate of offered salaries in the UK has slowed to 3.9%, marking the lowest point in four years.

The decline in job opportunities has affected most industries, from professional services to hospitality and retail. However, there is a rise in vacancies only in specific niches such as technology, engineering, and healthcare.

Annual changes in job vacancies in the UK based on exposure to AI. Source: Bloomberg/Indeed.

Experts noted a 14% increase in vacancies for software developers, primarily driven by demand for experienced professionals and positions directly related to artificial intelligence.

Young Professionals Facing Entry Barriers

As of July 10, the number of vacancies available for graduates decreased by 7% year-on-year, the lowest figure for this period since 2020. Offers for temporary and seasonal employment also reached their worst levels in the last four years.

Jack Kennedy, a senior economist at Indeed, indicated that the pressures on the UK labor market are becoming systemic: hiring reductions are impacting nearly all sectors, while salary growth is losing momentum. Graduates and young job seekers are particularly affected, facing increasingly limited opportunities for their first jobs.

The situation extends beyond hiring statistics, as over one million Britons aged 16 to 24 are neither studying nor working. Among those aged 18 to 24, the proportion of such young individuals stands at 15.8% — three times higher than in the Netherlands, which the government looks to as a model.

On July 28, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the launch of new technical education pathways. Starting at age 14, students in England will be able to combine core subjects with vocational training linked to local job vacancies, developed collaboratively by local authorities, schools, colleges, and employers. Nationwide implementation is scheduled for 2028.

Market Division Beyond the UK

Similar conclusions were drawn by PwC, which analyzed over a billion job postings across 27 countries. In their Global AI Jobs Barometer published on June 15, they noted that the labor market is splitting into two tiers due to artificial intelligence:

  • Professions where technology takes over routine tasks, requiring employees to have expertise and decision-making skills, such as radiologists and recruiters. Job openings in these areas are doubling, and salaries are rising 42% faster;
  • Professions where AI simplifies work to a level accessible without specialized training, like IT support managers and medical secretaries. In this group, the increases are significantly more modest.

Demand for specialists with AI competencies is growing eight times faster than the general market (+69% compared to +9%). The salary premium for such skills has jumped to 62% (up from 57% a year ago).

PwC also examined 2.4 million entry-level positions in the US. Among the roles most affected by automation, there are seven times more requirements for leadership, creativity, and communication skills — qualities traditionally associated with more experienced employees. Since 2019, the number of such job offers has increased by 35%, while other entry-level vacancies have decreased by 10%.

It’s worth noting that in June, TechCrunch highlighted AI as a convenient justification for layoffs. Since the beginning of the year, employers have cited the technology in connection with 87,714 job cuts.