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This risks leaving firms without people to promote into management positions in a few years. But for now, a tough economic backdrop and open questions over how AI will reshape the workplace are keeping employers focused on reducing costs.AI has raised the stakes of taking your first step up the career ladder - and made it tougher and costlier than ever.Georgie Blackburn, a Gloucestershire-based career coach, is one of the few beneficiaries. In a two-decade career advising everyone from senior executives to military leavers, she says most of her clients today are young people fresh out of university, up from just one in 10 two years ago.“I have seen it as a growth area for my business,” said Blackburn, whose early-careers services can cost up to £750 ($1,010) and may direct people to volunteer work, internships or online courses to build experience. “A degree is not enough on its own, never has been, but even more so today.”The situation is...

Modified: Tuesday, 18 August 2026 23:46 BST - Written by James Fuller ...

M&Co, founded in 1834, had 168 stores across the UK and owed more than £46 million when it collapsed. The retailer, which operated 168 stores across the UK, shut all its shops in spring 2023, including branches in Penrith and Whitehaven. M&Co previously entered administration during the pandemic, resulting in 47 store closures and 380 job losses. The company was later bought back by its founding family, but entered administration again in 2022. The Penrith store, located in the New Squares shopping area, closed in December 2022. The site was later taken over by The Original Factory Shop, which opened in September 2023. The Whitehaven branch, at 57/60 King Street, was also among the stores to close during the 2023 shutdown. More than 600 unsecured creditors are set to lose more than £33 million after the closure of M&Co, the fashion chain that went into administration in late 2022. A report from...

Private sector wage growth has fallen to its weakest level since the Covid pandemic, as new figures reveal mounting pressure on Britain’s jobs market. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday show that annual growth in regular private sector earnings slowed to 2.8 per cent in the three months to June 2026. By comparison, regular earnings growth in the public sector stood at 6.1 per cent over the same period. The ONS has cautioned that public sector figures continue to be affected by differences in the timing of pay awards this year. Across the economy as a whole, annual growth in regular earnings, excluding bonuses, was 3.5 per cent in the three months to June, while total earnings including bonuses increased by 4.1 per cent. The latest figures also show that unemployment remained at 4.9 per cent among people aged 16 and over during April to June. The rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier, although it...

M&Co, which was founded in 1834 and operated 168 stores across the UK, owed more than £46 million at the time of its collapse. The clothing retailer closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores across the UK in spring 2023 after going into administration, including past local branches in places like Didcot, Abingdon, and Kidlington Newly published documents reveal that more than 600 unsecured creditors will lose more than £33 million, with the case moving from administration to dissolution in June. Adele Macleod, Gavin Park and Robert Harding of Teneo were appointed joint administrators, marking the second time the company had entered administration. M&Co first entered administration during the pandemic, resulting in the loss of 47 stores and 380 jobs. The company was bought back by the founding family, but administrators were once again appointed in 2022. In their latest report, the administrators said: “We adjudicated all claims received and subsequently admitted 608 claims for...

Isabel Mills will qualify as a nurse in October after studying at City St George's, University of London for the past three years, but she has been unable to find a nursing job in the capital. Mills, from Welling in south-east London, has spent the past couple of months applying for jobs and said she was increasingly concerned by the lack of entry-level opportunities."If I search in London, a lot of the jobs are Band 8 which is for managers," she said. "There aren't many options unless you want to move out of London."NHS Vacancy statistics show that as of March 2026, the Registered Nursing staff group had a vacancy rate of 5%, with 21,643 vacancies.New nurses typically apply for entry-level Band 5 positions, but statistics show that the number of those jobs has been falling, particularly in London.A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to the NHS Business Services Authority found advertised Band...

The number of job vacancies in the UK is at the lowest level for five years. Roles fell to 707,000 between May and July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. That’s the fewest vacancies since April 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline was driven by smaller businesses pausing hiring or not replacing leaving staff due to employment and other operating costs. The largest fall in vacancies was at small businesses employing between one and nine workers. They cut 8,000 vacancies. Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The labour market picture is little changed overall, with some softening still evident. Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates have all remained steady, while the number of employees on payroll fell slightly in the latest quarter. “Vacancies remain broadly flat, though a small fall in the latest period puts them at the lowest level in more than five years. The latest decrease was driven mainly by smaller businesses, which cite labour and operating costs...

….vacancies fell by over 700,000 Job vacancies in the United Kingdom (UK) fell to a five-year low of 707,00, according to reports by the BBC. Vacancy numbers fell over the May-to-July period to 707,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said small businesses were citing labour and operating costs as reasons for scaling back hiring. This contraction in active job openings is caused by elevated operating costs in energy caused by the US-Iran war. These companies have also noted that increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage have made it more expensive to employ staff. Addressing youth unemployment remains a central policy focus, particularly after the number of 16- to 24-year-olds classified as not in education, employment, or training (NEET) topped one million earlier this year. In addition, wage growth slowed to 4.1 per cent in the three months to June, down from 4.4 per cent in the previous period.d This data underlines a growing economic headwind ahead of the autumn budget...

Before joining the company, he had little knowledge of what working in a fish market involved. “I had no idea how it was going to be as it’s nothing like I had thought of before,” he said. “But now, being in it for nine months, I can say it has been really fun and I have learnt a lot.” According to Tim Boyd, director of New Wave Seafood, Bush has developed a broad range of practical skills since joining the business. These include filleting fish, preparing seafood products, cooking lobster and crab, making fish cakes, preparing sides of salmon and producing taramasalata. He has also taken on customer-facing responsibilities, including handling telephone enquiries, taking orders and assisting with fish purchasing. “I never expected I would learn how to fillet a fish in my life, let alone cook it, and suddenly I can now do both,” Bush said. He also credited shop manager Adam Yeoh for helping him settle into the role and develop confidence...

Artificial intelligence has created new jobs in more than half of UK firms, according to a study by British bank Lloyds, even as fears about its impact on employment grow. The study does not, however, specify whether other roles have been eliminated at the same time. "More than half (54%) of UK businesses say AI has created new jobs," Lloyds said in a statement, based on its monthly business research. AI has raised concerns about the jobs market, with some fearing its impact on unemployment, particularly for young people. An OECD report last month found that AI is not causing widespread decline in employment across its member countries, but noted that the technology is changing the skills businesses are looking for and may make it harder for younger people to enter the workforce. Global youth unemployment rose last year, with young people expressing anxiety about entry-level jobs being replaced by technology, according to a United Nations report earlier this month. AI is increasingly providing flexible, fast...