Redundancies are reappearing across the UK labour market with more force, and Click Offices says the pattern is especially pronounced in technology, manufacturing, and construction. Its analysis of ONS redundancy and unemployment data shows job losses rising again after a more stable period, even though the current rate remains below the peak reached during the pandemic.
The broader backdrop has already turned weaker. The UK unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in January to March 2026, while vacancies fell by 3.9% to 705,000 between February and April, the lowest level since April 2021. Against that softer hiring picture, Click Offices found that the UK redundancy rate increased from 2.8 to 4.2 per 1,000 employees between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026 — a rise of 50% over three years.
By age, the pressure is concentrated in the middle of the workforce. Workers aged 35 to 49 recorded the highest redundancy rate, at 5.22 per 1,000 employees, while those aged 25 to 34 saw the steepest increase, climbing from 1.51 in early 2023 to 3.93 in early 2026. Employees aged 50 and above also saw a rise, with a redundancy rate of 4.38. Younger workers, by contrast, posted the lowest redundancy rate at 1.85, but that does not signal a healthier position. Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds reached 16.2%, with 729,000 people in that group out of work.
The split is revealing. Younger people remain more likely to struggle getting into work at all, while employees in their thirties and forties are more exposed when businesses decide to restructure. Those are different forms of labour-market weakness, but both point to a market that is becoming less forgiving. Employers are slowing recruitment in some areas while cutting established roles in others.
Sector data sharpens the picture further. Click Offices found that information and communications now has the highest redundancy rate at 9.82 per 1,000 workers, overtaking manufacturing on 9.41. Construction follows at 7.29, while accommodation and food services recorded 6.27. Technology now sits at more than double the UK average, even after a quarter-on-quarter fall, which suggests the pressure is no longer confined to industrial or cyclical sectors.
Shane Duffy, Managing Director at Click Offices, said: “It’s clear that digital transformation, AI and automation are reshaping how businesses operate, causing workforces to become increasingly at risk of redundancies thanks to this shift.
“While manual labour roles historically faced the brunt of digital transformation, AI-led technologies are now having a direct impact on white-collar jobs with significant increases to the redundancy rate across technology, information and communications sectors.
“It’s not surprising to see that mid-career professionals appear to be the most affected by this, as businesses look to strip middle-management costs.”
That pressure on the middle of organisations has been building for some time. Flatter structures, self-service systems, slower growth, and rising caution over fixed costs have all narrowed the room for managerial layers that once expanded more easily. Technology is part of that story, but it is not acting alone. Higher wage bills, weaker confidence, and tighter capital discipline are also feeding decisions that reduce headcount or leave roles unfilled once people move on.
The same shift was visible in recent reporting on employers cutting jobs as pay growth slowed, where businesses were already responding to demand uncertainty with greater restraint. Click Offices adds more granular evidence to that trend. The market is not deteriorating evenly, and the parts under greatest pressure are not necessarily the ones that looked weakest a year ago.
Technology’s position in the rankings is especially notable because it complicates older assumptions about digital work. Roles once seen as comparatively insulated are now being reshaped by automation, cost review, and changing delivery models. That does not mean AI alone is driving the increase, but it does mean the gains from digitisation are being matched by a harder look at headcount, particularly where work can be standardised or absorbed into new tooling.
For office markets, the consequences are likely to be felt through slower expansion, more selective hiring, and greater caution over space commitments in affected sectors. Yet the data also signals something wider. Employers are reorganising at the same time as vacancies are declining and unemployment is rising, which leaves less room for workers to move quickly into comparable roles. That makes redundancy a more material economic signal again than it was during the tightest years of the post-pandemic recovery.
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