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Six percent of UK businesses using AI report cutting staff, ONS finds

Thirty percent of UK companies now deploy artificial intelligence, but net employment reductions remain concentrated in a small minority of adopting employers.

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Sources: 1 · top grade 1How evidence is graded

6%

of UK businesses using AI report reduced headcount

Grade 1 · Primary

Source: UK Office for National Statistics

What changed
The UK ONS found that 6% of businesses with 10+ employees using AI reduced headcount as a result, while fewer than 1% added staff.
Who it counts
UK trading businesses responding to Wave 165 of the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey between 21 September and 4 October 2026.
What it does not tell you
The survey measures self-reported directional changes among employers rather than exact worker counts, and excludes the public sector and finance.

The full story Check the source

Six percent of UK businesses with 10 or more employees currently using artificial intelligence reported reducing their workforce headcount as a direct result, the Office for National Statistics estimated on 8 October [1]. Fewer than 1% of adopting firms reported that AI adoption led to an increase in staff [1].

The figures, drawn from Wave 165 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey, show that 30% of all UK trading businesses used at least one form of AI technology in September 2026 [1]. That represents a more than three-fold increase from 9% when the ONS first asked the question in September 2023 [1].

Adoption scales heavily by enterprise size: 51% of businesses with 250 or more employees reported using AI in September 2026, up from 19% three years earlier [1]. By industry, the information and communication sector led adoption at 60% [1].

Where workforce roles were affected, administrative and clerical tasks bore the heaviest disruption, cited by 38% of adopting businesses with 10 or more staff [1]. Despite accelerating technology deployment, the ONS noted that the proportion of adopting employers cutting staff (6%) has remained broadly stable over the past 12 months [1].

What it measures

The survey measures weighted proportions across UK private-sector enterprises sampled through the Monthly Business Survey between 21 September and 4 October 2026 [1]. Out of 38,592 sampled businesses, 9,933 responded (a 25.7% response rate) [1].

What it does not tell you

The release reports the proportion of businesses that adjusted headcount, but does not count the absolute number of employees laid off, hired or reassigned [1]. It excludes public administration, defence, education, healthcare and the financial services sector [1].

Sources and their grades

  1. UK Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 8 October 2026. Read 8 October 2026. Grade 1 · Primary Wave 165 bulletin, Section 3 ('Artificial intelligence'). Sampled 38,592 enterprises with 9,933 responses.

A grade says how much weight a source will take, from 1 (a body that can compel an answer and has nothing to sell) to 5 (somebody describing what they sell, or themselves). The standard sets out what each grade may be used for.

Filed under Artificial intelligence Labour market Statistics UK

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