UK/Ireland UX job postings still below 2018 levels
Published 20 July 2026 · Source dated 1 November 2023
UK and Ireland UX job postings sat at roughly half of 2018 levels by Q3 2023, per Indeed's design team. It's a multi-year cooling, not a sudden AI-driven crash.
Indeed's design team tracked UX job postings against a Q1 2018 baseline. By Q3 2023, UK and Ireland postings for UX design and research had fallen to roughly half of 2018 levels — a slower, steadier decline than the sharper swings seen in Canada or Australia over the same period. This isn't a 'week's snapshot,' it's a multi-year cooling after a fast expansion. If you're job hunting in the UK now, that longer trend matters more than any single week's listing count — it explains why competition feels tougher than headlines about 'AI eating jobs' might suggest.
Coach
Before your next application push, skim the actual UK trend data yourself so you're calibrating expectations on evidence, not vibes.
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