AI is creating a two-speed jobs market in the UK, Indeed says

UK employers are creating jobs for experienced staff with artificial intelligence skills and cutting back elsewhere, according to new figures that show how the technology is starting to create a two-track labor market. 

British firms posted about 10% fewer vacancies this month than in January 2025, data from job search website Indeed shared with Bloomberg shows. However, the fall disguised wide disparities as firms increasingly adopt AI to cut costs and boost productivity. 

Software developers, whose profession has been transformed by AI and suffered dramatic job losses since 2022, are back in demand with postings rising 14%. Much of the increase came from senior roles and those directly linked to AI. 

Meanwhile, occupations such as IT and engineering, where AI enhances the value of experience by taking over routine tasks, are among the few that have held up since last summer. 

Elsewhere, from retail and manufacturing to white-collar roles that are more vulnerable to substitution like accounting or marketing, vacancies have fallen by double digits as employers take action to cope with higher employment costs and a more volatile economy.

“The UK labor market is increasingly splitting into two speeds,” said Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed. “Demand is concent...