#employment-trends

#employment-trends

Experts have a long history of torturing us with predictions about how technology will wipe us out, first our jobs and then just getting rid of us altogether because humans are a bother. The AI panic around Large Language Models over the last three years is no exception.

With domestic out-migration levels growing prior to the pandemic and remaining significantly elevated beyond it, it is clear out-migration is a structural phenomenon that is here to stay and not just a byproduct of remote work and the pandemic.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the ecommerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post. The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon laid off 14,000 workers. She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don't want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits, she said.

Hiring across London's financial services sector softened in the final quarter of 2025 as organisations responded to economic, political and market pressures. While Q4 is traditionally the most conservative hiring period due to seasonality, this slowdown was amplified by global market volatility, US trade tensions and uncertainty ahead of the November budget. Signals around potential tax and levy increases, prompted many businesses to pause or reassess hiring plans. In London's internationally connected financial ecosystem, discretionary recruitment was deferred, while critical and strategically important replacement roles continued to be filled.

"Many of these return-to-office efforts are coming at a time when demand for workers in male-dominated industries has weakened, giving employers the upper hand."

"AI's impact on the labor market remains limited and there is no sign of a significant impact on most labor market outcomes."

Seventy-five percent of rural, midcareer workers seek training that remote work opportunities would require, according to a new report by Generation and YouGov.

US nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 in June, matching the average monthly gain of the past year. Most gains occurred in health care and state government sectors, while federal employment continued a decline due to actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The unemployment rate saw a slight decrease, falling 0.1 percentage points to 4.1%, remaining steady between 4.0% and 4.2% for over a year.

Microsoft is cutting thousands of jobs in its second round of mass layoffs, which may affect about 9,000 people across various teams and locations.

The June job report revealed a decline in the private sector with a loss of 33,000 jobs, contrasting sharply with the anticipated growth of nearly 100,000 jobs.

"This is not a sudden development -- it's an issue that's been building up for years," said Ivan Gekht, CEO of Gehtsoft, a custom-design software development firm.

Graduate roles in the UK are at a record low, down 12% as a share of all jobs compared to last year, reflecting ongoing labour market challenges.