Most people have no idea how good AI is – and they’ll be the first to go AI A viral post from an AI investor warns most people have no idea how good AI is, or how quickly it will come for their jobs. Will it come for mine? Maybe. A couple of weeks ago I looked at the essay written by Anthropic’s co-founder in which he expressed his fears that humanity won’t [...]
UK businesses turn to overseas talent and AI as Reeves’ taxes bite Economics British businesses are facing a “trade off” as rising costs for employers push firms into investing in overseas talent and leveraging AI. Whilst businesses are ditching the “wait-and-see” approach that engulfed firms amidst the tax uncertainty ahead of November’s Budget, this has not translated into a hiring upswing, the latest KPMG and REC jobs report [...]
UK labour market weakens as hiring and pay growth cools Economics The UK labour market continued to lose momentum at the start of 2026, with falling employment, weak hiring demand and easing wage growth reinforcing signs of a sustained slowdown. BDO’s Employment Index fell for a third consecutive month in January to 93.30, its lowest level since March 2011, as businesses pulled back on recruitment amid persistent cost [...]
Bank of England raises alarm on unemployment as interest rates unchanged February 5, 2026 The Bank of England has held interest rates but policymakers warned that the spiralling unemployment rate and weak growth was weighing down on price growth. In its decision on Thursday, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to leave interest rates at 3.75 per cent. But economists warned that unemployment could jump higher over the [...]
Service sector sees longest run of job losses in 16 years February 4, 2026 A new survey suggests that the UK service sector has endured its longest sustained period of job losses in 16 years, despite rising business activity at the start of the year. Employment in the service sector has decreased in each month since October 2024, according to S&P’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), with the pace of [...]
Bank of England set to hold interest rates January 31, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent next week as policymakers continue to battle against sticky inflation. At the monetary policy committee (MPC)’s first meeting of the year, the Bank is expected to suggest it is too early to cut rates due to the lack of available data [...]
Whitehall leans on AI to fix failing public services January 27, 2026 The UK government is accelerating its use of AI across public services, as ministers look to modernise creaking systems, boost productivity and strengthen national security. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced a new cohort of British AI specialists who will spend the next year embedded in government. They will be backed [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Barclays slumps on credit card cap, Fed’s Jerome Powell faces probe January 12, 2026 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The FTSE 100 broke through the five-figure mark last week in a welcome start to the year for the London markets. The index saw its best annual performance in 2025 since the recovery from the financial crash in 2009. That was helped along in no small part [...]
Jobseeker numbers rise ‘sharply’ in labour market setback January 12, 2026 The number of jobseekers rose “sharply” in December alongside a slump in demand for new hires, analysis has shown, posing a threat to the future of the UK labour market. Analysis of S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) indicated the jobs market weakened further at the end of last year, undermining hopes of a recovery [...]
AI jobs defy hiring slump as tech talent cashes in January 7, 2026 With redundancies rising and hiring freezes spreading across much of UK PLC, the tech corner of the jobs market looks to be moving steadily in the opposite direction. New data shows tech roles are not just surviving the wider slowdown, but actively raising salary growth in 2026. Jobs platform Totaljobs found median advertised pay saw [...]