Visa applications down, executives emigrating, and AI blamed for the rest

The number of international workers applying for a visa to work in the UK's tech sector dropped 11 percent between Q2 and Q3 2025, and was down 6 percent year-on-year, according to consultancy RSM UK.

At the same time, domestic talent is expensive and non-technical staff are proving difficult to upskill.

These findings come from RSM's Technology Industry Outlook 2026 report, based on interviews with 300 tech executives.

Almost all surveyed – 98 percent – are using AI, which RSM describes as a double-edged sword: a driver of growth and investment on one hand, and the primary reason tech workers are losing their jobs on the other.

The claim about AI sits awkwardly alongside other research. A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that more than 80 percent of companies have seen no discernible impact from AI on either employment or productivity.

RSM's own numbers ...