The UK’s data and AI labour market reached record levels in 2025, with vacancies rising 18.4% year-on-year as businesses moved beyond pilot programmes and began integrating AI into core workflows at scale. Annualised 2026 figures point to a further 13.2% increase, with January and February already posting year-on-year growth of 20.0% and 31.7% respectively. If current trends continue, one in four jobs in the sector will have been created in the last two years, a pace of growth unmatched by virtually any other part of the UK economy.
Regulatory affairs hiring across UK life sciences contracted in 2025 as multinational pharmaceutical firms implemented widespread restructuring. London absorbed the majority of cuts, with vacancies falling by 29.3%, reflecting reductions concentrated at headquarters. Across the rest of the UK, hiring proved more resilient, declining by 7.7% while increasing its share of demand.
UK legal hiring grew modestly in 2025, with vacancies rising 1.4%, but strong demand in specialist areas drove large increases in personal injury (+30.3%), banking and finance (+23.4%), and tax (+19%) roles. Regional markets expanded alongside London, with the North East (+28.6%) and Wales (+26%) leading growth, while law firm recruitment strategies diverged sharply, with some firms rapidly expanding and others scaling back hiring.
This report finds that UK life sciences hiring cooled in 2025 as companies prioritised funding discipline and cash efficiency, with scientific vacancies falling 7% overall despite continued strength in core hubs such as London and growth in South East England. While regional trends diverged—most notably rapid expansion in North East England—major employers such as Roche, Lonza, and Johnson & Johnson increased hiring, even as recruitment slowed at firms including GSK and AstraZeneca.
This report finds that UK financial-services hiring grew 13% in 2025 despite economic uncertainty, driven by strong demand for technology, compliance, and digital transformation roles, with fintech vacancies rising 29% and Greater London accounting for over half of all growth.
Accountancy vacancies increased 15% with a sharp rise in senior leadership roles, banking hiring focused on IT and operational resilience, and fintech remained the sector’s fastest-growing segment as firms expanded software, product, and business-development teams.
