LinkedIn's latest labour market insights show that across the EU and UK, hiring trends today are being driven mainly by macroeconomic conditions and business uncertainty. At the same time, AI is creating important shifts in where opportunity is created and how economies compete, pointing to a complex reality for workers, policymakers and business leaders.

• Hiring is 26% below pre‑pandemic levels in the EU and 24% below in the UK, driven by macroeconomic pressure and business uncertainty.
• Small businesses are driving job creation with hiring up 44% in the UK and 13% in the EU, at the smallest firms of 1–10 employees since 2019.
• We're not seeing AI hiring shocks yet, but AI is changing where opportunity is emerging, with 256K+ new AI-related roles in the EU and 95K+ in the UK in the last two years.

Is AI adoption causing a drop in hiring

Despite the headlines, hiring trends today are being driven mainly by macroeconomic conditions and business uncertainty. According to LinkedIn's latest labour market insights, across the EU, hiring is down 26% compared to 2019 and 15% year-on-year, and in the UK it's down 24% from 2019 and 10% year-on-year. Hiring has been in the same decline across seniorities, with entry-level hiring tracking the overall rate.

Economic uncertainty, tighter financial conditions, and lower business confidence are what's broadly shaping hiring decisions. This matters because it suggests today's slowdown is not yet a structural AI effect. At the same time, it means deeper changes can be harder to see if we only focus on topline hiring trends.

Where is job growth coming from

Even in a slower hiring market, there are clear pockets of resilience. Hiring at the smallest firms has increased by 44% since 2019 in both the EU and UK. Founder activity is also increasing across Europe as AI helps lower barriers to starting and scaling companies.

This shift is important as it signals that AI is not just changing existing jobs. It is also making it easier to create new jobs and opportunities. As a result, future job growth may come more from small businesses and entrepreneurs than from large, centralized hiring cycles.

How is AI impacting jobs

One of the clearest findings from LinkedIn's newly released reports is that there is no evidence of a broad, AI‑driven drop in hiring so far. Roles with higher AI exposure are not declining faster than others, and jobs that combine experience with AI-replicable and human-centric skills are holding up best.

At the same time, AI is already creating new demand:

• The EU has added over 256,000 AI-related jobs since 2023
• The UK has added 95,000+ AI-related jobs since 2023
• Hiring for AI engineering talent is 25% above the workforce average in the EU and 18% above in the UK

Who will benefit from the AI revolution

Across both reports, one theme stands out consistently. The impact of AI will depend on people. AI and human skills are among the fastest growing and most in-demand skills across the workforce – but technology alone does not drive growth. Adoption, talent, and skills do.

Most AI-exposed workers in the EU & UK have high skill overlap with many other jobs, positioning them to more easily navigate AI impacts. Workers with high AI exposure and low skill adaptability – an estimated 12% of the EU & UK workforce – are most at-risk for long-term displacement.

Together, these signals point to a growing challenge. The risk is about labour market adaptability and uneven access to new opportunities. Countries that can scale AI-ready skills across their workforce will be better positioned to translate AI ambition into productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.

What comes next

The labour market is entering a new phase. Hiring data alone no longer tells the full story. The more important signals sit underneath:

• Where growth is emerging
• How roles are evolving
• Which skills are rising in importance
• Who can access new opportunities

For leaders shaping workforce and economic policy, the challenge is to move beyond reacting to change and start shaping it. To explore the full data, including sector, regional, and policy insights, check out the EU and UK reports.

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