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The US is using AI to create jobs. The UK? It feels like we are using it as a convenient excuse to remove them.

Emerging tech and AI2 min readSam Page

This Guardian report cites that UK businesses are seeing a 11.5% productivity gain from AI, but an 8% loss in jobs.

Meanwhile the US is seeing similar gains AND job creation.

UK confidence has been low and companies have been cutting jobs to find cost efficiency, over and above increased productivity and gains. It’s a short term results approach.

Companies that have been growing don’t seem to have been cutting head count because of “AI”. Certainly not to this extent.

And the US generally has been more confident, more buoyant and focussed on growth.

The mindset in the UK seems to be shifting from cost cutting, back to growth… and I think we’ll see companies leaning into people, using the latest tech, to drive this.

So despite what this articles portrays, I’m not sure it’s a true reflection on AI, I don’t think it’s all bad news for people and the future!

Shortly after this post I saw this post I saw that the FT had published this chart showing that both junior and senior roles are down, and that they believe it is more closely related to the rate hike.

See comments for Financial Times chart which correlates both junior and senior job role decrease to rate hikes:

Link to article which is only available to Premium subscribers I’m afraid: https://www.ft.com/content/7fbc1871-2b84-4973-813b-b48a1c097a69

First posted on LinkedIn and sam-page.com.

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---
title: "The US is using AI to create jobs. The UK? It feels like we are using it as a convenient excuse to remove them."
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/the-us-is-using-ai-to-create-jobs-the-uk-it-feels-like-we-are-using-it-as-a-conv
date: 2026-01-26
author: Sam Page
type: Post or article
categories: [Emerging tech and AI]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "This Guardian report cites that UK businesses are seeing a 11.5% productivity gain from AI, but an 8% loss in jobs."
first_published: https://sam-page.com/2026/01/26/the-us-is-using-ai-to-create-jobs-the-uk-it-feels-like-we-are-using-it-as-a-convenient-excuse-to-remove-them/
---

# The US is using AI to create jobs. The UK? It feels like we are using it as a convenient excuse to remove them.

This [Guardian report](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/26/ai-uk-jobs-us-japan-germany-australia) cites that UK businesses are seeing a 11.5% productivity gain from AI, but an 8% loss in jobs.

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/the-us-is-using-ai-to-create-jobs-the-uk-it-feels-like-we-are-using-it-li1.webp)

Meanwhile the US is seeing similar gains AND job creation.

UK confidence has been low and companies have been cutting jobs to find cost efficiency, over and above increased productivity and gains. It’s a short term results approach.

Companies that have been growing don’t seem to have been cutting head count because of “AI”. Certainly not to this extent.

And the US generally has been more confident, more buoyant and focussed on growth.

The mindset in the UK seems to be shifting from cost cutting, back to growth… and I think we’ll see companies leaning into people, using the latest tech, to drive this.

So despite what this articles portrays, I’m not sure it’s a true reflection on AI, I don’t think it’s all bad news for people and the future!

Shortly after this post I saw this post I saw that the FT had published this chart showing that both junior and senior roles are down, and that they believe it is more closely related to the rate hike.

See comments for Financial Times chart which correlates both junior and senior job role decrease to rate hikes:

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/wp-the-us-is-using-ai-to-create-jobs-the-uk-it-feels-like-we-ar-12b41e.webp)

Link to article which is only available to Premium subscribers I’m afraid: <https://www.ft.com/content/7fbc1871-2b84-4973-813b-b48a1c097a69>