When he wrote about losing his job and his subsequent struggle to find another one for The Telegraph last month<\/a>, his experience told the tale of a disturbing trend. A \u201chollowing out\u201d of middle-class, white-collar jobs like his has hit the middle-aged<\/a>, often in middle management, hard, leaving many devoid of confidence and unable to re-enter the workforce.<\/p>\n A storm of economic factors, plus the increasing prevalence of AI<\/a>, has created what experts are increasingly seeing as a specifically white-collar jobs recession.<\/p>\n The latest Office for National Statistics data shows UK job vacancies have fallen for 36 consecutive months, breaking the previous record of 16 set during the 2008 global financial crisis. Over the past three years, redundancies have almost doubled from 55,000 people per month to 114,000, with the impact falling largely on middle-aged and older workers \u2013 all during a period of (albeit slow) economic growth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re heading for a jobs crisis like the 1980s\u201d, says James Reed, chairman and chief executive of Reed recruitment agency. \u201cLots of people are going to be left behind as a result. If we see the hollowing-out of white-collar work it will affect millions of people, their living standards and the government\u2019s tax take.\u201d<\/p>\n Here, Telegraph readers who saw echoes of their own experiences in Ho\u2019s account share their seemingly never-ending battles for work.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m not ill, I\u2019ve got a lot to offer. Why am I being excluded from the workforce?\u2019<\/p>\n Mike Forsdike, 54, is a creature of habit, so he continues getting up at 5.30am even though he has been out of work since last May. He goes for a run. But despite his best efforts, he can\u2019t help feeling affected by the sight of people heading to work near his central London home. He sounds admirably positive most of the time, but a note of frustration creeps into his voice when he talks about this.<\/p>\n \u201cI think to myself, \u2018They\u2019re all going off to jobs, why aren\u2019t I?\u2019 Because I\u2019m not ill, I\u2019m not on benefits. Why am I being excluded from the workforce? You\u2019re perfectly healthy, you\u2019ve got a lot to offer, but you\u2019re not in the economic loop.\u201d<\/p>\n Forsdike, a construction manager with some 30 years\u2019 experience managing both residential projects and major commercial ventures including Tottenham Hotspur\u2019s stadium, has never been out of work before. Though he has been made redundant, he was always quickly \u201csnapped up.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Forsdike, 54, a construction manager with 30 years\u2019 experience, faces prolonged unemployment despite his skills amid a stalled market – Julian Simmonds<\/p>\n This time is different. He muses: \u201cYou see Angela Rayner<\/a> on a building site and she\u2019s had a hard hat on longer than me in the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n He says that even in usually buoyant London, construction is \u201ctotally dead,\u201d despite what he calls \u201cWhitehall\u2019s rhetoric\u201d about building infrastructure and homes. People aren\u2019t buying, and \u201cthere isn\u2019t any kind of business confidence,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n But he believes people of his age, in senior positions, seem particularly impacted. \u201cI\u2019ve got friends who are in the same situation, you know, sort of director level,\u201d he explains. \u201cPeople like me are sitting at home with the skills and experience; I\u2019ve got a degree, I\u2019m chartered.\u201d<\/p>\n He admits that after sending out \u201ca few hundred\u201d job applications, he started dumbing down his CV<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019re reducing your actual knowledge and experience [in case people think], \u2018He\u2019s too qualified\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n While he doesn\u2019t believe his role is directly being eroded by AI and technology, he says the recruitment and sifting process is affected by it. The interviews he has secured have mostly been conducted via Teams or Zoom, \u201cwhich is not the best because I feel you\u2019ve got to meet people […] Otherwise you feel you\u2019re just another one in the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n His partner works, but he\u2019s starting to tighten his belt. There will be no holidays this year. In truth, he says, he doesn\u2019t feel he deserves one. \u201cEvery day is a weekend day,\u201d he adds, without enthusiasm.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve applied for 600 jobs \u2013 now I\u2019ve had to cash in a pension\u2019<\/p>\n When asked how he is, Andy Kettles, 58, cannot hide his despondence. \u201cSSDD\u201d, he replies \u2013 \u201csame s—, different day.\u201d It is, sadly, how the Nottingham project manager has felt since leaving his job at a tech company last July, despite his best efforts to stay positive.<\/p>\n He has also worked in property management and financial services, so he has a wealth of experience. Yet, since leaving his job for a planned sabbatical, expecting to find another role within a few months, he has applied for at least 600 jobs<\/a>. Since January, he has been invited to only 16 interviews, around a four per cent hit rate, he says.<\/p>\n \u2018Same s—, different day\u2019 is how Andy Kettles, 58, sums up his relentless job search – Andrew Fox<\/p>\n He blames, in part, pessimism about the economy and the Government\u2019s approach, including the increase in employer National Insurance contributions<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness confidence fell because Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer started bad mouthing the economy<\/a>\u201d, he says. But he also believes AI is taking over certain administrative elements of his role, and he only sees that getting worse.<\/p>\n He admits it also comes down to his age.<\/p>\n \u201cI do know a number of people in similar roles to me who are in their mid-thirties to mid-forties who have lost their jobs during the past year,\u201d he says. \u201cBut most [\u2026] have been able to secure roles within about four to five months.\u201d<\/p>\n He lives alone, but his financial situation now means he has had to cash in a small pension. He admits he now avoids speaking to friends and family, in case they ask \u201chow the job search is going\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, when I get up in the morning, [I] just think \u2018Oh god, another day of this\u2019,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s embarrassing to be struggling so badly\u2019<\/p>\n Neil Cumins recently applied for a job that attracted 455 applicants. He didn\u2019t get an interview. The 47-year-old, a freelance content writer for businesses and online publishers, has run his own company since 2007, writes for clients around the world, and has won awards \u2013 yet now spends an increasing proportion of his week without work. That time is dedicated to applying for new contracts and commissions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a second job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n In 2023, his profits dropped by around a quarter; this year, they\u2019ve fallen by another 10 to 15 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year is looking like it will be the worst for 15 years in terms of turnover,\u201d he says. \u201cI started 2024 with 12 clients, and I ended it with seven. And some of the clients I do have appear to be reducing the amount of work distributed.\u201d<\/p>\n Neil Cumins, 47, a freelance writer and business owner, faces dwindling work and income amid AI changes disrupting online publishing – Chris Watt<\/p>\n Thankfully, his wife has a full-time job in Carlisle, where they live. While they\u2019re \u201creining in\u201d spending, and trying to insulate their eight-year-old son from the impact, he still feels \u201cembarrassed\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing to know you\u2019re struggling so badly, and when you\u2019ve applied for 200 roles without landing a single paid piece of work, it really preys on your mind\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ec19632868230783a2a8424b3e93cc1f.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/39babf482bf4c3a73d79e6e3bb4c7d38.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Neil](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4bbd26595d883ec693df162e394bf0f7.jpeg\"\/)
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