London workers most exposed to AI jobs cull
Workers in London are more exposed to an artificial intelligence-induced jobs cull than in any other major city, according to the world’s leading economics think tank, while growth in hiring for AI talent has been lower than in the EU, Canada and the US.
A new OECD report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warns that London had the highest number of jobs exposed to generative AI.
The organisation’s researchers found that nearly four in five jobs were highly exposed to AI either now or in the near future, according to data shared in 2022.
London has long been the engine of growth in the UK, with professional and financial services jobs boosting the country’s tax receipts.
The capital ranked above cities such as Washington DC in the US, Zurich in Germany, Ontario in Canada and Berlin in Germany for exposure to AI.
The UK as a whole also came second in a list of countries that had jobs exposed to new technology, behind just Luxembourg.
Several businesses in London have cut headcounts as part of an effort to boost AI, including Starling and Big Four consultancies.
Young Brits see jobs passed to those abroad
Separate data compiled by the OECD suggested that relative growth for AI talent hiring in the last two years had lagged behind the EU, Canada, Australia and the US. The UK’s hiring trend in AI was largely on a par with New Zealand.
Job postings for AI-exposed occupations have also declined rapidly since the pandemic although official data has shown that vacancies have fallen across the UK economy in the last three years.
OECD economists warned that younger people, particularly graduates, have been more heavily affected by the emergence of AI. Trends including the offshoring of employment have contributed to structural changes that have made the jobs market tougher across advanced economies.
However, the new employment report said the evidence of AI affecting young people “appears to be limited”. The Labour government recently appointed the economist Simon Johnson, who won a Nobel prize, to lead a government institute analysing the effects of AI on the UK jobs market.
Despite AI threats, workers in the UK were unique in working more hours per year than those across the OECD, which includes countries such as the USA, Japan, Mexico and Spain.
The UK joined the likes of Italy and Czechia in recording a rise in average hours worked per year between 2023 and 2025 compared to the period between 2019 and 2023.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has been among a number of senior leaders warning of the “mass destruction” impact AI could have on jobs in the capital. He responded by announcing a plan to upgrade AI training for prospective workers.
A separate report by the Office for Budget Responsibility on the long-term risks of AI said the technology could boost productivity growth by up to 0.8 percentage points a year, providing a much-needed boost to public finances.
But the independent body also said, in a scenario where labour is reduced, the wage and salary share in the UK economy halves by 2075 and tax receipts drop dramatically.