Data and AI Job Market Review
There is a lot being said about data and AI hiring at the moment ...but from our perspective as a recruitment business working across the UK, EU and USA, the reality is way more nuanced than the rhetoric around whether “the market is flying” or “the market has stalled” (we’ve heard both recently during conversations with our community) What we’d say, candidly, is this that the market is active, but it is selective and that has consequences both on the hiring side as well as for those looking to move on in their career. In the UK, the ONS view in January and February 2026 does not suggest any real rebound yet. In the January release, vacancies edged up to 734,000 for October to December 2025, which was only a modest increase on the previous rolling quarter. Then in the February release, vacancies moved to 726,000 for November 2025 to January 2026, slightly higher than the comparable earlier period, but lower than the 734,000 reported a month before. So, the direction of travel i...