UK data: CS grads landing programming jobs fall from 40% to 28% amid AI
mattpocockuk · x · 2026-09-12
Guardian data on UK graduate outcomes shows AI may be denting job prospects for computer science and economics graduates:
- The share of CS graduates finding jobs as coders/programmers fell from 40% to 28% last year — coding was the fastest-falling graduate occupation; the share entering any graduate-level job dropped from over 60% two years ago to 50%.
- Economics graduates are also affected, with employer demand falling in well-paid finance roles like economists and management consultants.
- Matt Hiely-Rayner of Intelligent Metrix, who compiled the data, said 'something did happen to the software developer labour market last year,' with experts citing AI agents' ability to do cheap, fast coding and analysis as the likely cause hitting entry-level roles first.
Poster Matt Pocock calls December 2025 the moment AI coding got 'good enough' and expects a steeper drop for junior developers in 2026.
Related event: UK Data: Share of CS Graduates Working as Programmers Falls from 40% to 28%(2 posts)→
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