The PwC 2026 AI Jobs Barometer finds that artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs, skills and career pathways, with AI-exposed companies experiencing stronger productivity growth, faster wage growth and higher headcount growth. The report also highlights the growing importance of leadership, judgement, creativity and other human skills.
Background & Job Description
PwC’s 2026 AI Jobs Barometer, published on 15 June 2026, examines how artificial intelligence is changing the global labour market and the types of skills employers increasingly value.
The research presents a more complex picture than the idea that AI simply replaces workers. According to PwC, companies that are more exposed to AI are experiencing significant productivity gains while also recording faster wage and headcount growth. PwC 2026 AI Jobs Barometer
The report identifies a two-track jobs market. Some roles are being “professionalised” as AI increases the value of human expertise, while other roles are being “democratised” as AI makes certain tasks easier for less-specialised workers to perform.
This distinction has important implications for students, graduates, job seekers and employers planning for the future of work.
Tasks
The research highlights several major changes taking place across AI-exposed occupations.
Workers may increasingly be expected to:
- Use AI tools to enhance productivity and decision-making.
- Combine technical AI capabilities with human expertise.
- Apply judgement when working alongside AI systems.
- Demonstrate creativity and empathy.
- Develop leadership and strategic-thinking abilities.
- Adapt continuously as occupational skills change.
- Take on more complex responsibilities earlier in their careers.
PwC reports that the skills required for the most AI-exposed jobs are changing more than twice as fast as those required for the least AI-exposed jobs.
The research also finds that newly added tasks in AI-exposed roles are 2.5 times more likely to rely on skills such as empathy, judgement and creativity.
For business leaders, PwC recommends using AI not only to improve efficiency but also to pursue growth, develop new sources of value, invest in AI agents, redesign early-career pathways and strengthen human-intensive skills.
Qualifications
Education and Certification
The AI Jobs Barometer is a research report rather than a specific job or academic programme, so it does not establish formal educational qualifications or certification requirements.
Instead, the research points to the changing combination of skills that workers may need as AI becomes more deeply integrated into different occupations.
The findings particularly highlight:
- Leadership
- Strategic thinking
- Judgement
- Creativity
- Empathy
- Human expertise
- AI-related capabilities
For students and early-career professionals, this suggests that developing AI skills alone may not be sufficient. PwC’s findings indicate that employers will increasingly need workers who can combine technology with complex human capabilities.
Experience
The report specifically examines how AI is changing entry-level work.
One of its notable findings is that AI-exposed junior positions are seven times more likely than the least AI-exposed junior roles to request traditionally senior capabilities such as leadership.
PwC describes this as a compression of the traditional career ladder.
Although overall early-career job postings have flatlined in highly AI-exposed sectors, the report says “seniorised” entry-level roles have grown 35% since 2019.
This could mean that organisations increasingly expect new professionals to demonstrate decision-making, leadership and strategic capabilities much earlier in their careers.
Additional Information
AI and Productivity
PwC reports that productivity growth is 40% higher at companies most exposed to AI compared with companies least exposed to AI.
Since AI adoption accelerated in 2022, the most AI-exposed companies have reportedly tripled their lead in workforce productivity growth compared with the least exposed companies.
The report also identifies a strong “super-star” effect, with the top fifth of the most AI-exposed companies achieving an average 163% productivity growth.
AI, Wages and Hiring
The findings challenge the assumption that increased AI exposure necessarily results in fewer workers.
PwC says companies achieving the largest AI-related productivity gains are not relying exclusively on AI for cost reduction. Instead, they are using AI to amplify human performance, create new value and pursue growth.
Headcount growth at the most AI-exposed companies is outpacing that of the least AI-exposed companies.
Wages are also growing faster at the most AI-exposed companies, suggesting that some of the productivity gains associated with AI are being shared with workers.
A Two-Track Labour Market
The research identifies two broad directions for AI-exposed jobs.
Professionalised jobs are becoming more dependent on human expertise as AI handles some routine work. These jobs are growing faster and attracting stronger wage growth.
Democratised jobs are becoming easier for people without traditional specialist expertise to perform because AI can provide assistance with certain tasks.
According to PwC, professionalised jobs are growing twice as fast as democratised jobs and have experienced 42% faster wage growth since 2021.
What This Means for Early-Career Workers
The transformation of entry-level work is one of the report’s most significant findings.
Traditional career progression often involves starting with routine responsibilities and gradually moving toward more complex decision-making. AI may be changing that model.
As AI absorbs more routine work, junior employees may increasingly need to demonstrate advanced capabilities earlier.
PwC therefore recommends that organisations rethink onboarding, mentorship and training programmes so that early-career employees can develop leadership, stakeholder-management and strategic decision-making skills more quickly.
For individuals entering the workforce, the findings reinforce the importance of developing a combination of AI literacy and uniquely human capabilities.
Key Takeaways
The PwC 2026 AI Jobs Barometer presents several major conclusions:
- AI exposure is associated with stronger productivity growth.
- AI-exposed companies are also seeing faster wage and headcount growth.
- Skills are changing significantly faster in AI-exposed occupations.
- Professionalised jobs are growing faster than democratised jobs.
- Human skills such as judgement, creativity, empathy and leadership are becoming increasingly important.
- Entry-level workers may be expected to demonstrate traditionally senior capabilities earlier.
- Employers need to redesign early-career development pathways for the AI era.
The report ultimately suggests that the future of work is not simply about humans versus AI. Instead, organisations and workers that can combine AI capabilities with human expertise may be better positioned to create value in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
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