PwC recently released its 2024 AI Jobs Barometer to highlight the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, workforce and productivity. PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer 2024 has moved beyond mere predictions, providing concrete evidence of AI’s transformative impact on the workforce. By analyzing over half a billion job ads from 15 countries, the Barometer reveals that AI is significantly enhancing productivity and altering the landscape of required skills for success in various sectors.
AI’s Impact on Productivity and Wages
The sectors with the highest AI penetration are experiencing a remarkable 4.8-fold increase in labor productivity growth. This surge in productivity has far-reaching implications, potentially driving economic growth, increasing wages, and improving living standards across the board.
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Jobs requiring specialist AI skills are especially lucrative, carrying up to a 25% wage premium in some markets. The demand for these skills has skyrocketed, with the growth rate of AI specialist jobs outpacing all other jobs by 3.5 times since 2016. This trend began well before the advent of widely known AI tools like ChatGPT, highlighting the long-term growth and importance of AI expertise.
Changing Skill Demands
The study also found that the skills sought by employers in AI-exposed occupations are evolving at a 25% faster rate compared to other jobs. Workers in these fields must continuously adapt by acquiring new skills to stay relevant. AI exposure is defined by PwC as the extent to which AI can be utilized in various tasks within an occupation.
Comprehensive Analysis of AI’s Impact
PwC’s extensive analysis encompasses the full spectrum of AI’s influence on jobs, skills, wages, and productivity. By tracking the proliferation of jobs demanding AI specialist skills across countries and sectors, the Barometer highlights the rapid acceleration of AI penetration, particularly in professional services, information and communication, and financial services.
Notably, the impact of AI extends beyond those with specialist AI skills. Many workers, such as customer service agents, analysts, or lawyers, can leverage AI tools without needing deep technical knowledge. Generative AI, for instance, can be operated using everyday language, making it accessible to a wide range of professionals.
AI Exposure and Sectoral Transformation
To understand AI’s broader impact, PwC examined all jobs and sectors by their level of ‘AI exposure.’ This refers to the extent to which AI can be utilized for certain tasks within an occupation. Occupations with higher AI exposure, such as financial analysts and software coders, are witnessing significantly higher labor productivity growth. Concurrently, the skills demanded by employers in these AI-exposed occupations are rapidly evolving, reflecting the dynamic nature of the job market in the age of AI. PwC’s 2024 AI Jobs Barometer provides compelling evidence that AI is not just a futuristic concept but a present-day catalyst for change in the world of work. Readers are advised to visit the official website for more percipient insights.