20th August 2026 – (London) New research from Goldman Sachs indicates that junior white-collar workers are being hit hardest by the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence, with the brunt of hiring pressure seen among those entering professions such as management consulting, advertising and software publishing. The analysis covered more than 800 job categories and found that while the overall effect of AI on employment remains relatively muted, its impact is most acute at the entry level, where the work traditionally performed by recent graduates—such as research and administrative tasks—is now being undertaken by generative AI systems.
The report highlights that since the latter half of 2022, sectors with a high degree of AI automation have experienced noticeable downshifts in job openings, with management consulting, advertising, call centres and software publishing all deviating sharply from historic growth trends. The slowdown is evident across much of the information and communications technology sector, which has seen employment growth falter in major developed economies.
In the United States, France and Canada, a ten per cent exposure of an occupation to AI was linked to only a 0.1 percentage point drag on annual headcount growth. However, for those starting their careers, the impact is larger, with a decline of more than 0.2 percentage points in the US and over 0.6 percentage points in Australia.
This research arrives as Britain’s job market continues to lose momentum: current Office for National Statistics data shows vacancies have declined to 707,000 in the three months to July, the lowest in more than five years. Payroll numbers have also dropped for a sixth straight month, and private sector wage growth slowed to 2.8 per cent, the weakest since October 2020.
Goldman stressed that AI is not the primary cause of the broader UK employment slowdown. Instead, its disruptive influence is concentrated in a handful of fields and among newcomers to the workforce. The UK remains one of the most advanced economies in terms of AI adoption, alongside the US, France and the Netherlands, with 54 per cent of businesses at Lloyds reporting new AI-generated roles and 21 per cent introducing specialist AI positions. Despite strong intentions to invest in AI skills, nearly a third of businesses admit their teams lack the necessary expertise. Lloyds’ Amanda Murphy commented that building “skills, culture and confidence” will be vital for UK businesses to benefit fully from ongoing AI transformation.
