Demand for AI, tech experts pushes UK financial sector vacancies up 12%

Demand for workers in AI, regulation, data reporting and other specialist skills drove vacancies in UK’s financial sector up 12% in 2025, recruiting firm Morgan McKinley said on Monday, as companies sought to keep up in a technology arms race.

The year-on-year increase happened despite a slowdown in the fourth quarter, as volatility in global markets and uncertainty about the government’s November budget prompted caution in hiring managers, Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor, a quarterly survey of financial services vacancies, showed.

Software and computer services now account for over 16% of vacancies, above traditional roles such as investment management and banking which accounted for 15% of total vacancies each last year, Mark Astbury, director at Morgan McKinley, said.

Clerical and administrative positions fell 16%, and broking roles fell 20% over the year, as AI and automation of services reduced the demand for staff in these functions, the data showed.

The robust hiring should continue into the first quarter of this year, Astbury said, as unemployment remained relatively low at 5% and inflation stable at 3.2%.

UK’s Sainsbury’s faltering non-food sales dent festive grocery cheer

Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest supermarket group, reported a fall in general merchandise and clothing sales for the Christmas quarter, taking the shine off a strong food performance and sending its shares sharply lower.

The group, which trails only Tesco by grocery market share, said general merchandise and clothing sales within Sainsbury’s fell 1.1% and sales were down 1% in the Argos business over the 16 weeks to January 3 year-on-year.

Grocery sales rose 5.4%, while group like-for-like sales increased 3.4%.

Sainsbury’s shares were down 5% by 1055 GMT, paring gains over the last year to 23%, on concern over continuing weak general merchandise market conditions and the lack of a profit upgrade.

CUSTOMERS PRIORITISE FESTIVE FOOD

About one quarter of the group’s sales are non-food.

“The conditions aren’t going to change this year – cautious customers in general merchandise,” CEO Simon Roberts told reporters.