Year in Review – UK Tech Labour Market Trends Report, January 2025
AI’s Expanding Influence: Transformation in the Workforce Accelerates
Key findings include:
- AI/Data roles surge across all industries, Fintech sees a 71.5% uplift
- The Technology Industry outperforms other sectors, with 47.6% of all IT vacancies
- Across all IT functions London remains flat (+0.7%) but regions decline (-12.8%)
- JP Morgan Chase tops vacancies, unveiling LLM Suite chatbot for employees
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The Government initiative to invest in AI-related infrastructure is at a time when the industry is accelerating away and while the UK remains a global leader, the planned investment will facilitate further growth and hiring. AI/Data roles are already the fastest growing area being recruited within IT departments, and it is within Financial Services that consumer applications are taking shape, leading to an acceleration of investment. Hence within Fintech, AI/Data roles have surged by 71.5% year on year, and the forecast is for this upward trend to continue.
London dominates hiring
With approximately two-thirds of venture capital funds investing in the UK not being British companies, they typically have concentrated investments in the capital. Hence across all IT roles, London continues to dominate, with 42.5% of the national share. However, there was only a marginal increase in IT roles overall in the capital (+0.7%.) However, this compared to a regional drop of (-12.5%.) Looking ahead, Labour’s new AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to boost AI computing power, fostering growth across infrastructure and education sectors. The question is what the impact will be as a result of these initiatives, on IT hiring outside of London.
Fintech hiring soars, Banking hiring slumps
Fintech remains the darling of the London economy and with a 44% uplift in vacancies year on year, has outperformed all other IT-centric sectors. Financial services in contrast has had a decline in IT vacancies of 8.5%. AI is set to integrate further into Fintech this year, and just as importantly, where AI is enhancing the sector’s ability to grow, in Banking the impact remains primarily automation, as the retail side of the sector shrinks.
The technology sector picks up as interest rates fall
Falling interest rates are leading to a more investment-friendly climate and the UK technology sector has seen the benefit of this overall, with vacancies increasing by 7.7%. UK ministers claim AI may boost the economy by up to £470bn, while DeepSeek presents opportunities for companies who now don’t necessarily need to invest in hardware to compete effectively.
JP Morgan Chase & Co unveiled its new LLM Suite chatbot
The launch of the LLM Suite chatbot by JP Morgan makes them a company to watch. Already the leading recruiter for IT in the UK, they anticipate a $2bn boost in AI-driven profits, with asset and wealth management projected to contribute significantly to its estimated $58bn annual profit. Meanwhile, Version 1 experienced a 43.6% drop in vacancies, though expansion efforts in the West Midlands and the acquisition of Far Sight Consulting promise future growth. Oracle also increased vacancies by 43.9%, driven by the Stargate Project, a US-backed $500bn AI infrastructure initiative expected to enhance long-term productivity.
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