Human Times

UK Edition

19th June 2026

THE HOT STORY

AI 'is splitting the job market in two'

AI is splitting the global labour market in two, according to a PwC study of data including over one billion job postings across 27 countries and territories. The technology is rewarding companies that use AI to enhance human skills, but those who use it merely to cut costs are being left behind, the study suggests. “The companies seeing the greatest returns on AI are using it to amplify human expertise, accelerate innovation and create entirely new sources of value,” observed Joe Atkinson, PwC’s global chief AI officer. “They’re pulling further ahead on productivity and growth than companies that focus primarily on automation.” Entry-level AI-exposed roles that require what have traditionally been senior human competencies, such as judgment, empathy, ethics, creativity and leadership, have grown 35% since 2019, while so-called “non-seniorised” entry-level positions, which don’t require such skills, have shrunk by 10%, PwC said.

Bloomberg

TECHNOLOGY

AI use in UK hits 'tipping point'

Maureen Costello, Google Cloud's vice president for the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa, has told Reuters that AI adoption has reached a "tipping point" in the UK, as companies move from experimentation to large-scale deployment and begin to see returns. Google research suggests that AI could boost productivity by about 20%, effectively giving business owners "a day back" each ⁠week, Costello said, but there needs to be investment in skills, leadership engagement and trust. "Technology is only half ⁠of the answer - people are the other half," Costello said. "Leaders can't sleep at the wheel, they need to get hands-on and understand how to apply this in their organisations."

Reuters

WORKFORCE

UK private sector wage growth slows

UK private sector regular wage growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 2.9% in the three months to April, down from 3.1% in the three months to March. Meanwhile, overall regular pay growth across the entire economy remained steady at 3.4%, stronger than the 3.2% expected, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, UK job vacancies declined by 19,000 to 707,000 in the three months to May while unemployment fell 0.1% to 4.9%. Businesses remain cautious due to rising employment costs with many freezing hiring and some 90% planning redundancies this year.

Graduates hit by loan interest blunder

More than 40,000 graduates have been overcharged interest on their student loans, according to HMRC. The tax office revealed that incorrect earnings were used to calculate interest payments, affecting some graduates who were taxed through both pay as you earn and self-assessment. HMRC identified the issue in 2022 but did not disclose its duration. As a result, 41,000 Plan 2 graduates will see their loan balances decrease, while 30,000 customers face increased future repayments.

The Daily Telegraph

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Retailers expand youth employment schemes

With UK youth unemployment at an 11-year high, retailers and employers are expanding programmes to help young people into work. TK Maxx says its partnership with the King's Trust has supported more than 15,700 young people since 2013, while Marks & Spencer has launched 1,000 graduate-style placements. Other employers, including BAE Systems, Mitchells & Butlers, National Grid and FirstGroup, are increasing apprenticeships and training opportunities. The government is also piloting AI-focused boot camps linked to apprenticeships with employers including JD Sports and BAE Systems.

The Times

John Lewis expands care leaver jobs pledge

The John Lewis Partnership has pledged to create 1,000 additional jobs for care leavers by 2030, more than doubling its previous commitment. The expansion will provide at least 250 roles annually through its Building Happier Futures programme, which has already supported more than 450 young people since 2022. Chairman Jason Tarry said retailers have an important role in helping disadvantaged young people into work and called for greater government support through skills funding, apprenticeships and pre-employment training programmes as youth unemployment rises.

The Times

ECONOMY

Younger people have become more pessimistic

Consumer confidence among young adults in the UK has plummeted to its lowest level in two years, according to GfK. The survey revealed a significant 11-point drop among 16 to 29-year-olds, now at -2.

Reuters

TAX

Billionaire trader loses tax appeal at UK's Supreme Court

The UK's Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that billionaire trader Alex Gerko must pay an additional £22.5m in income tax. Gerko, the founder of XTX Markets and one of Britain’s highest taxpayers, argued that HMRC’s taxation on deferred trading profits from his HFFX partnership amounted to unfair double taxation. The five judge panel rejected his argument, concluding a legal battle that began in 2022.

HMRC broadens scrutiny of founders’ pay in company sales

HMRC has over the past year stepped up reviews into how owners are taxed when they sell their businesses, particularly where payments are linked to continued involvement in the company.

Financial Times

INTERNATIONAL

Work from home is here to stay

The Wall Street Journal reports that the amount of time Americans work remotely is barely budging despite the efforts of big companies - including Home Depot, Target, Microsoft, 3M, and Intel - to herald return-to-office mandates. Data from a monthly work-from-home survey run by economists Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom and Steven Davis indicates that remote work has reached an equilibrium, with 26% of paid, full days worked from home in May, similar to two years earlier. Bloom, a Stanford University economist, believes that more work will be done remotely in the future, rather than less of it: older bosses will, over time, retire, and be replaced by younger people who are more comfortable with staff working from home some of the time.

Wall Street Journal

Czech public media workers call strike

Workers at ‌Czech Television and Czech Radio have called a strike to protest a planned government overhaul of a decades-old financing system. Critics say the changes will lead to cuts in funding and leave public television and radio stations vulnerable to political interference. The government earlier this week ⁠agreed on a plan to end the licence fees that have been the main source of funding for public broadcasters, and instead wants to finance them from the state budget. The chief of Czech Television said this could mean forced layoffs of about 300-500 of the station's 2,900 staff.

Reuters

Australian court bans ex-Star CEO for six years over money laundering failures

A court in Australia has banned former Star Entertainment CEO Matthias Bekier from managing companies for six years and fined him A$700,000 ($494,620) over failure to handle ‌money laundering risks at the casino operator. The judgment comes months after the Federal Court found Bekier and former chief legal and risk officer Paula Martin breached their duties by failing to sufficiently address risks at the company. Much of the judgment was devoted to the pair's self-serving statements which referred to the distress of the case but not the failings that brought it about. "Although both contraveners relied upon evidence of reputational harm, professional consequences and, in Ms Martin's case, physical and psychological conditions, there was very little evidence demonstrating developed insight into the seriousness of the contraventions themselves," Justice Lee said.

ABC News

Reuters

Malaysian nurses oppose recruitment of Indonesians

The Malaysian Male Nurses Association (MMN) says it opposes the recruitment of Indonesian nurses to address the country's healthcare workforce shortage. The organisation said that a thorough study is necessary before implementing such measures. The association highlighted concerns over what it said were differences in training standards and communication skills, which could impact patient care, and emphasised the need to prioritise local nursing graduates. The MMN has urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment and consider the long-term implications for patient safety and local employment opportunities.

Straits Times

OTHER

There’s nothing wrong with kids being bored, Phillipson says

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson spoke this week with BBC presenter Adam Fleming about the topic of children's boredom. She said: "There is nothing wrong with kids being bored. That is also an important part of growing up . . . If you're bored, go and find something to do." Phillipson did say however that this is sometimes harder for children without access to activities in their local communities, or families with less money to spend.

BBC News

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