American graduates are facing a tough job market, and things aren't much different across the pond.
The UK branch of the Big Four accountancy firm PwC confirmed to Business Insider that it had lowered entry-level recruitment this year.
PwC will take on 1,300 entrants to its graduate and school leaver programmes, compared with 1,500 last year, the firm said.
The news was first reported in an op-ed published in The Sunday Times by Marco Amitrano, PwC's UK chief.
"PwC will always be a large employer and training ground for young people in the UK," but the impact of AI and a sluggish economy are changing the firm's hiring practices, Amitrano wrote.
The UK's economic slowdown and the resulting drop in investment, hiring, and dealmaking in the UK are the "single biggest factor behind a lower graduate intake at PwC this year," Amitrano said.
AI is also reshaping roles, Amitrano said. For now, the development of new tools and investment in skills was offsetting more serious disruption to jobs, but that balance was likely to change in the future, he said.
The PwC chief said consistent policy, regulatory reform, and a more predictable tax environment would help create jobs. He was also optimistic about AI's potential, saying the technology could create new industries if there was "sustained and serious investment in tech, infrastructure, and training."
"Most technologies, if not all, have boosted both productivity and wages," Amitrano said.
Entry-level hiring is also set to slow at the firm's US branch.
In August, BI obtained part of an internal presentation showing that PwC US planned to cut graduate hiring by a third over the next three years.
A bullet point on the presentation slide said leadership's decision to slow down associate-level hiring related to "transformation efforts, the impact of AI, and further AC integration" — with AC integration referring to PwC's acceleration centers, or offshoring hubs.
In his Sunday op-ed, Amitrano addressed offshoring, saying the global labour market was "more competitive and accessible than ever before."
"Where it makes sense, and where it helps us remain competitive, we must draw on a global dimension," he said.
Deloitte UK has also lowered its intake for graduate and apprentice hires in recent years.
Last week, the firm announced it was taking on 1,400 entrants to its graduate programme, BrightStart apprenticeship, and industrial placement programme — 300 fewer than it accepted for the same programmes in 2023.
Deloitte didn't respond to a request for comment from BI about why it has reduced the numbers.
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