AI and European Offices: Separating Hype from Hiring Reality

With many questions arising off the back of increasing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, hiring sentiment and the future impact on white collar jobs, we delve deeper into some of the recent economic, employment and business AI adoption data impacting office-based jobs across Europe.

AI adoption and office-based employment

Firstly, there is only a weak-moderate negative relationship (Chart 1, correlation -0.44) between the proportion of businesses using AI and office-based employment growth since 2024, according to data from Eurostat and Oxford Economics. Nordic and Western European markets are the most active AI adopters, but their slower employment growth reflects labour shortages and high-income status rather than displacement by AI. Indeed, lower-growth economies are more likely to explore AI as a tool to boost productivity growth, increasing overall adoption rates. On the other hand, Southern and Central Eastern European markets have reported stronger office-based employment growth, supported by a buoyant tourism sector and strong domestic demand, respectively.

Read More: Savills UK | AI and European Offices: Separating Hype from Hiring Reality – April 2026