"We may well have passed peak employment" as AI and automation reshape jobs market
WITH job vacancy and payrolled employee numbers falling again, business owners and AI experts have said “we may well have passed peak employment”, with one adding we are witnessing “AI transformation unfolding right under our noses”.
The warning comes as new jobs data shows that the estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 9,000 (1.3%) on the quarter, to 717,000, in July to September 2025 — the 39th consecutive period where vacancy numbers have dropped compared with the previous three months, with vacancies decreasing in 9 of the 18 industry sectors.
Meanwhile, estimates for payrolled employees in the UK fell by 93,000 (0.3%) between August 2024 and August 2025.
Sam Alsop-Hall, Co-Founder at Birmingham-based Clive Henry Group, was unequivocal: "AI and automation are reshaping the jobs market, and the latest data shows the effects are starting to bite.
"Vacancies have now fallen for the 39th consecutive period, and roles that once filled quickly, like accounts assistants, customer service handlers, stock clerks and data entry staff, are increasingly being replaced by AI tools and robotic process automation.
"Company owners are now scrutinising every vacancy to see if RPA, AI, or outsourcing can do the job instead, because you don’t pay National Insurance on a robot, and machines don’t take long-term sick leave or annual leave.
"This shift is being compounded by Rachel Reeves’ catastrophic National Insurance hike, which has made it even harder for businesses to justify new hires when margins are already under pressure.
"We may well have passed peak employment, as technology and policy together reshape the workforce without a clear plan for reskilling or redeployment."
Colette Mason, Author & AI Systems Architect at London-based Clever Clogs AI, agreed: "This is AI transformation unfolding right under our noses. This isn't just cyclical economic wobbling, it's the labour market quietly telegraphing what happens when businesses start believing AI will do the work that entry-level humans used to do.
"While research suggests AI-exposed industries are seeing higher wage growth for workers with AI skills, we're simultaneously watching firms pull back on the very entry-level positions that teach people how to work.
“You can't build an AI-augmented workforce if you never hire the humans who need to learn the about the real world of work beforehand.”
Mitali Deypurkaystha, Human-First AI Strategist at Newcastle upon Tyne-based Impact Icon AI, said “we didn’t pass peak employment because AI failed but because it worked”.
She added: "Business leaders adopted AI for efficiency gains. Few asked what would happen if it they succeeded. Most people make a Plan B for failure, not success. Yet, the biggest failures often follow the biggest wins.
“Efficiency inevitably means fewer human hours, so the first ripple is a hiring freeze, the next, job losses.”
Deypurkaystha continued: "The real crisis isn’t AI; it’s short-sighted leadership from both business owners and AI consultants. Responsible AI adoption means planning for success, and not just failure: helping leaders discover new, profitable processes to redeploy saved time and energy.
“In the short term, AI efficiency wins. In the long term, it risks hollowing out the very talent pipeline that sustains your organisation. No one needs to lose their job to AI, but they will if leaders and consultants fixate on efficiency. As a leader, ask yourself: are your AI efficiencies helping you reimagine human potential or replace it?”
Kate Underwood, Managing Director at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said that while “peak employment might be behind us, peak potential definitely isn’t”.
She continued: "Yes, AI transformation is changing what work looks like, and fast. But from an HR perspective, this isn’t just about lost jobs or automation. It’s about how roles are being redefined.
"We’re seeing roles evolve, not disappear. The most successful businesses are leveraging AI to save time, not replace talent. The real challenge now is helping people and organisations adapt quickly.
"That means reskilling, rethinking job design and remembering that while AI can crunch data, it can’t build trust, coach performance or inspire a team. Technology might be shifting the landscape, but people will always be the ones steering it."
Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, says her firm, like countless others, is already saving money by using AI: "AI isn’t just assisting, it’s accelerating a seismic shift in the jobs market.
"As firms like ours use AI to save time and wages, roles are being redefined or replaced. Peak employment may now be in the rear mirror. The future belongs to those who work with intelligent systems, not against them."
Debbie Porter, Managing Director at Bakewell-based Destination Digital Marketing, believes "the tide will turn, as the crucial thing AI agents can’t do is think for themselves or exercise judgement.
“Businesses are trying all they can to keep pressing forwards whilst seeing others fall into administration. AI is the current shiny object everyone is playing with.”
She said the real problem is less AI than “the squeeze on finances and cash flow in all directions”.
Samuel Mather-Holgate, Independent Financial Adviser at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, agreed, saying AI isn't to blame for the fall in the number of vacancies and rising unemployment, but something far more analogue, namely the Government: "AI is not the reason the jobs data is shockingly bad this quarter, it’s the effects of an inept government and idealistic Chancellor.
“The effect of the jobs tax and corporation tax hikes have killed off the jobs market. Vacancies down, unemployment up and the government fumbling in the dark for some economic stability.
"Starmer needs to sack Reeves now, before the Budget, and get someone in to invigorate Britain.”
