UK job applicants double amid AI-driven squeeze
Britain’s hiring market has become more competitive than any major economy, CityAM understands, as workers and recruiters struggle to adapt to AI in recruitment.
Britain’s job market is entering an AI-driven bottleneck, with the number of applicants per open role having more than doubled since Spring 2022, according to data shared by LinkedIn.
The job market platform found that while over half of UK workers (53 per cent) are actively looking for a new role this year, nearly three quarters say finding a job has been more difficult over the past year.
That’s a steeper deterioration than in the US, France or Germany.
The squeeze is being driven by a slowing economy, rising competition for roles, and the dizzying rate of AI in hiring processes, which many candidates do not know how to navigate.
Despite 77 per cent of job seekers planning to use such tools to support their job search, almost half say they are unsure how to stand out in AI-screened applications.
Meanwhile, recruiters are feeling the strain on the flip side of the same coin, with nearly four in five recruiters telling LinkedIn that it has been harder to find suitable candidates over the same time frame.
AI reshapes the process
This pressure has already been shifting career decisions across generations, with one in five Gen X job hunters considering switching job fields altogether.
Meanwhile, 21 per cent of Gen Z are taking it upon themselves to upskill in areas like AI to improve their chances of landing a job.
Entrepreneurship is also on the rise, as professionals leave traditional career ladders, with “founder” among the fastest-growing titles on the platform, a sign that some workers are opting to create their own jobs.
Charlotte Davies, LinkedIn’s UK career expert, said: “AI is now shaping everything from how jobs are advertised to how candidates are screened and interviewed,” she said. “People know they need to use these tools, but many don’t yet feel fluent enough to use them strategically.”
This report comes amid wider concerns about productivity, skills shortages, and the resilience of the UK labour market, as firms face higher taxes and wage costs.
While fears of mass AI-driven job losses persist, the immediate impact is being felt through stricter entry requirements and higher expectations for digital skills.
In the past 12 months, job ads featuring AI skills have grown by 62 per cent, according to a different report, while entry-level positions in professional services across the UK have declined by up to 35 per cent.
Ben Litvinoff, associate director of Robert Walters, said: “Most firms, especially across finance and technology sectors, are ramping up efforts around both Security and AI projects.”
“Efforts to stay ahead with AI as well as provide enhanced resilience require tech teams working behind the scenes to bring organisational infrastructures up to speed.”