For years, when a new kind of workplace tech arrives, there’s always been the question of whether it’ll create more jobs or make the working class less needed.
The AI boom has brought in some new job fears into offices, as well as in academic settings. Since tools like ChatGPT have entered everyday work, people have become more vocal about the possibility of jobs disappearing.
Today’s UK data does however show something different…
Research from the Centre for British Progress found, in its words, “no evidence that it has replaced jobs at scale in the UK.” Its review looked at Annual Population Survey data covering 412 UK occupations and found no meaningful difference between jobs seen as highly exposed to AI and jobs seen as less exposed.
That does not mean nothing is happening. The Centre for British Progress also found wages in jobs with higher AI exposure have grown more slowly than jobs with lower exposure since 2019. The organisation said this trend began before ChatGPT launched and cannot easily be explained as an AI effect.
AI seems to be changing how people work instead of removing entire professions overnight. The report found a small increase in the number of hours worked in jobs exposed to AI which supports the idea that workers using AI can handle tasks more efficiently and become more useful to employers.
Even in highly exposed sectors, results look different depending on the job. The Centre for British Progress found programmer and finance analyst jobs have continued to grow since ChatGPT launched, while administrative and clerical jobs have gone down.
Is The UK Job Market Becoming More Local?
Tech jobs in the UK are becoming less dependent on one city.
A study from CoworkingCafe analysed 95 UK cities and towns using 10 indicators covering workforce strength, earnings and housing affordability for women in STEM. The results show tech opportunity is spreading well beyond London.
Claudiu Pop, PR Communications Specialist at CoworkingCafe, said, “For our recent study on the best UK cities for women in STEM, we analysed 95 cities and towns across 10 indicators covering workforce strength, earnings and housing affordability. What stood out wasn’t simply that STEM jobs are growing – it’s that the geography of that growth is changing in ways that matter enormously for the broader labour market.”
London may lead on job adverts and salary size. According to the study, the capital generates more STEM job adverts than any other region and offers women in STEM professional roles nearly £53,000 a year.
But salary alone does not give full context.
Pop said, “The traditional assumption is that tech opportunity means London. And yes, the capital generates more STEM job adverts than any other region and offers the highest raw salaries for women in STEM professional roles, at nearly £53,000 annually. But the “capital’s headline figures unravel under the weight of its advantages,” as the study’s writer Balazs Szekely points out. Rent absorbs over 58% of median full-time earnings there, and the gender pay gap for STEM professionals is one of the widest we measured, at just 82.4p on the pound.”
Which Cities Are Benefiting Most From Tech Growth?
The CoworkingCafe research looked at cities based on opportunity, pay equity and buying power.
According to Balazs Szekely’s report, Edinburgh came out as one of the best places for women in STEM because it combines near-equal pay and more manageable living costs. Women in STEM in Edinburgh earn 99.2p for every £1 earned by men, far above London’s 82.4p.
Manchester also performed well, thanks to what the report called the second-highest STEM labour demand out of the top 10 cities. Women hold 28.9% of STEM roles there, above the UK average.
Stevenage also performed quite well and women in professional STEM roles earn £53,505 annually there, which is higher than London, while rents average £1,371 and house prices stay closer to national averages.
Pop said, “Meanwhile, cities like Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow are building genuinely competitive STEM ecosystems without forcing the same trade-offs. Edinburgh pairs near-perfect gender pay equity – 99.2p on the pound – with manageable housing costs. Manchester generates the second-highest STEM labour demand among our top 10 cities, driven by an expanding digital and tech sector that gives workers real career mobility.
“Even places like Stevenage, with its deep aerospace and defence heritage, are producing STEM salaries for women above London’s while keeping housing costs near national averages.”
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So, Can Tech Actually Help Workers?
Right now, technology seems to be reorganising work instead of rescuing or destroying the labour market outright.
AI is being used for a relatively small group of tasks. The Centre for British Progress found roughly a fifth of all tasks account for most AI usage, meaning adoption remains narrow.
That is one reason immediate labour market changes have been less severe than many expected. Jobs built around analysis, coding and financial modelling seem to be adjusting well. Administrative roles look more vulnerable.
Pop believes the bigger issue is where opportunity is happening.
He said, “So, will tech save the job market? I’d reframe. The real question is whether we recognise that the job market no longer has a single centre of gravity. The cities succeeding aren’t necessarily the loudest or most prestigious – they’re the ones where strong demand, fair pay and liveable costs converge. That’s where tech is making its most durable impact on the UK labour market, and it’s where we should be looking when we talk about long-term resilience.”
In 2026 and the years after, tech may not save the job market in one big moment. Current data shows work is being reorganised, new regional tech hubs are becoming more attractive, and workers are following opportunities that make financial sense.
Will tech be what saves the job market? More experts answer…
Our Experts:
- John Faily, Founder and CEO, Uncaged Ergonomics
- Seymour Segnit, Founder & CEO, MAGFAST
- Philip Huthwaite, CEO, 5app
John Faily, Founder and CEO, Uncaged Ergonomics
“Technology is likely to play a key support role within the UK job market in 2026. AI and automation reduce operating costs. With the emerging tools, certain repetitive administrative and entry-level positions will continue to decline.
“Employers are now more interested in those who can combine technical knowledge with communication, problem-solving and critical thinking. Technology will continue to evolve, yet businesses require employees that are able to make decisions, manage relationships and handle circumstances that software simply cannot resolve. The long-term effect of tech on the UK job market will be more about how quickly workers and businesses adapt to the tech.”
Seymour Segnit, Founder & CEO, MAGFAST
“Technology will NOT, by itself, “save” the job market, but it will shift which skills are in demand as economies increasingly operate in digital spaces. In the UK, there is a common perception that AI and automation only take away jobs. But in practice, businesses are still struggling with systems integration, cybersecurity, power efficiency, and hardware reliability challenges.
“These sustained challenges continue to ensure that engineers, technicians, and operations specialists capable of operating networked systems in the field will remain in high demand.
“Going forward, technical adaptability will be KEY in 2026 and beyond. For example, in our industry, we still require human experts who understand the physical engineering principles that underpin AI – like battery ratings, thermal management, supply chains, and device interoperability.
“And of course, automation will never replace experience, particularly in the UK, where companies are required to innovate but struggling with increased overheads – there will be an increasing appreciation of professionals who merge engineering know-how with practical use and are not solely reliant on AI or automation.”
Philip Huthwaite, CEO, 5app
“Rather than tech itself being the saviour of the job market, I believe that the ability to adapt to new tech will be what makes the difference. I work in AI-powered learning technology, and we’re seeing that the businesses who are thriving right now are those who are embracing and experimenting with new tech (and of course AI is a huge part of that).
“Jobseekers have an exciting opportunity to work in tandem with emerging technologies to increase efficiency and get better results at work, and AI literacy and confidence play a huge part in that. Learning how to make tech slip into our existing processes and preferred ways of working, rather than us moulding to the tools, will be key to succeeding in the UK job market in the years to come.”
