AI is Eliminating Jobs, UK Recruitment Chiefs Warn

More than half of hiring managers in the UK believe artificial intelligence (AI) is diminishing job opportunities, according to research by recruitment agency Reed. The study found that 52 percent of those responsible for recruitment observed a decrease in job openings due to AI.

Furthermore, 36 percent of hiring managers admitted that AI is already contributing to lower recruitment numbers within their own organizations. This sentiment echoes concerns raised by the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, who recently described AI as a "slow-moving tsunami" that could significantly impact global employment.

Georgieva projected that approximately 40 percent of all jobs worldwide may eventually be "augmented, downgraded or eliminated" by AI, particularly affecting opportunities for younger generations. "It is a transformative technology," she stated, emphasizing its profound impact on how people work and live. "Love it, hate it, or fear it. It is here, and we are already seeing the first wave of impact."

In response to these trends, Reed CEO James Reed has advocated for increased taxes on companies that replace human workers with AI or automation, under the slogan "back humans, tax robots." He noted that AI is no longer a future prospect but a present reality affecting both recruitment and the types of roles businesses require. While acknowledging AI's potential benefits for productivity and the creation of new opportunities, Reed stressed the need to address the risk of job reduction, especially for those entering the labor market.

"We need to get the balance right," Reed stated. "If businesses can reduce costs by replacing people with AI, while employing people becomes more expensive, we should question whether our tax system is keeping pace with the changing world of work." He further elaborated, "'Back humans, tax robots' is about making sure that technological progress works for people, rather than making a generation redundant. We should be investing in human potential, creating routes into work and ensuring that the benefits of AI help support the next generation."

Despite concerns about AI's impact on job availability, many hiring managers are actively integrating it into their recruitment procedures. The most common applications include screening CVs (used by 41 percent of organizations), skills matching and writing job advertisements (each used by 34 percent), internal administration (28 percent), interview scheduling (27 percent), and candidate sourcing (26 percent). Only 17 percent of organizations reported not using AI in their recruitment processes.