UK economy: jobless growth with AI

Reuters: Britain's economy is showing the clearest signs yet that it is benefitting from the global artificial intelligence boom, with data on Thursday ​showing rapid growth in related industries and a surge in computer ‌hardware investment.

While the Office for National Statistics said Britain's economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter, the information and communications sector contributed almost half of that expansion — more than any ​other industry...

... Within the sector, the ONS said the output of computer programming, ​consultancy and related activities — which would include AI companies — surged by ⁠3.7% on the quarter, on top of a 3.8% rise in the ​previous quarter...

... Output across ⁠British computing, ​electronic and optical product manufacturers grew by 10.7% ​in annual terms in the second quarter — ranking top among the 13 manufacturing sub-sectors for the ​first time since early 2017.

My Opinion: The UK economy is sustaining growth due to the AI related boom. With investment in AI related hardware and software. The highest growth was in manufacturing. Even IT services is growing. There was no information on the impact on employment. So I did some research, and unfortunately unemployment is rising in UK. Because with AI, you can do more work, with less employees.

Reference: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/ai-boom-is-starting-show-uk-economys-performance-2026-08-13/