The weakness is broad—and hardest at the entrance
The decline spans professional services, hospitality, retail, and other major categories rather than one isolated sector. Redundancies remain low, leaving the UK in a low-hire, low-fire equilibrium, but that apparent stability offers little comfort to people trying to enter or change careers.
Graduate and summer roles matter beyond immediate income. They are where workers establish references, learn workplace routines, and begin accumulating the experiences that later hiring filters demand. A prolonged shortage of those roles can create lasting effects on pay and progression.
AI is creating a market inside the slump
AI-linked postings are diverging from the broader market in management, marketing, finance, human resources, and other knowledge-work categories. Employers are not simply asking for more software specialists; they are rewriting ordinary functional roles around the ability to use AI tools.
Workers are responding, with strong interest in AI developer, trainer, architect, and data roles. But a skills premium cannot solve an access problem by itself. Training needs to connect directly to paid experience, especially for graduates and younger workers whose traditional footholds are disappearing.
Go to the source
Read the evidence behind this analysis. External links open in a new tab.
Indeed Hiring Lab — 2026 Mid-Year UK Jobs & Hiring Trends Report
