UK employers are hiring AI talent and cutting everyone else

The UK job market is splitting into two distinct realities. If you can build, deploy, or manage artificial intelligence systems, employers are practically rolling out the red carpet. If you can’t, that red carpet might be getting pulled out from under you. According to PwC’s 2026 AI Jobs Barometer, UK job postings requiring AI skills hit 179,954 in 2025, up from roughly 112,000 in 2024. That’s a jump of more than 60% in a single year. Meanwhile, overall job postings across the UK sat 27% below baseline as of March 2026, painting a picture of a labor market that’s simultaneously booming and contracting depending on which side of the AI divide you stand on. The numbers tell a stark story The wage premium for workers with AI skills has reached 34.2%. To put that in context, it was 11% in 2024. That’s not a gradual increase. That’s a tripling in roughly a year. Data from the Indeed Hiring Lab shows UK job postings that reference AI were 127% above pre-pandemic levels by February 2026. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 17% of UK employers expect AI tools to reduce their headcount over the next 12 months. And among those expecting job losses, 26% anticipate ...