PwC report: jobs growing slower in occupations most exposed to AI

Employer demand for skills that can be done with AI, such as coding in Javascript, is declining fast, according to a new jobs report from consulting firm PwC.

Conversely, the data showed that the demand for jobs that are difficult for AI to do, such as sports coaching or personal care, is booming. The skills required to build AI systems, such as machine learning interference or natural language programming, are also flourishing.

“Workers in AI-exposed roles may need to demonstrate or acquire new skills to stay relevant in a jobs market that is fast-evolving,” the PwC report said. Job listings already reflect this trend, with roles requiring specialist AI skills growing 3.5% faster than the rest.

On average, employers in the US are also willing to pay 25% wage premiums for jobs that require AI skills. Database designers and administrators with AI skills could expect to get 53% wage premiums, followed by lawyers at 49%.

The report stressed that job numbers in AI-exposed occupations are still growing overall. It said that AI would not rush in “an era of job losses” but rather a more gradual growth, which could help solve labor shortages in countries with fast-aging societies and help the economy grow.

The report found that productivity soared in global economy sectors most exposed to AI, growing almost five times faster than in less exposed sectors.

“AI will create new jobs for people that we haven’t yet begun to imagine. Many of the fastest-growing jobs of today – from cloud engineer to digital interface designer – didn’t exist 10 or 20 years ago and have been generated by technology,” said Pete Brown, global workforce leader at PwC UK.

Other studies have shown that AI is already creating new jobs, but International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva warned last week that AI was hitting jobs like a “tsunami.”

“We have very little time to get people ready for it, businesses ready for it,” Georgieva said at the event in Switzerland. “It could bring a tremendous increase in productivity if we manage it well, but it can also lead to more misinformation and, of course, more inequality in our society.”