The rate of wage growth for workers skilled in using artificial intelligence more than doubled last year as demand for their expertise continued to rise.
The latest PwC global AI jobs barometer shows that AI-skilled workers saw an average wage premium of 56% in 2024, up from 25% the previous year.
Jobs that require such AI skills also continue to grow faster than all jobs, rising 7.5% from last year, even as total job postings fell 11.3%.
Confounding expectations, job availability for roles more exposed to AI, such as financial services and software publishing, increased 38%, although this was below the growth rate in less exposed occupations like hospitality and mining (65%).
AI-exposed roles have almost doubled since 2019, according to the report, which is based on analysis of close to a billion job ads from six continents.
“In contrast to worries that AI could cause sharp reductions in the number of jobs available – this year's findings show jobs are growing in virtually every type of AI-exposed occupation, including highly automatable ones," said Laoise Mullane, director of workforce consulting at PwC Ireland.
"AI is amplifying and democratizing expertise, enabling employees to multiply their impact and focus on higher-level responsibilities.
"With the right foundations, both companies and workers can redefine their roles and industries and emerge as leaders in their field, particularly as the full gambit of applications becomes clearer.”
Within more exposed occupations, jobs can be further divided into ‘automated’ (ie the job contains some tasks that AI can carry out) and ‘augmented’ (ie where AI helps a human do their job better).
Across both classifications between 2019-24, job numbers are growing in every industry analysed, although augmented jobs are generally growing faster.
In Ireland, the study shows more job postings and higher demand for roles requiring AI skills, with jobs in AI-exposed occupations here having grown 94% since 2019 and across every type of occupation.
Augmentation-exposed jobs have seen much higher job growth across almost all sectors than automation-exposed jobs, reflecting demand for workers who are enhanced by AI.
In Ireland, the results suggest that AI-exposed occupations are also undergoing transformation, requiring workers to reskill and upskill more frequently, according to PwC.
For example, the top quartile of occupations exposed to AI in Ireland has seen a 2.78 times greater change in demanded skills compared to the bottom quartile.
The study shows that productivity growth has nearly quadrupled in industries most exposed to AI since the proliferation of generative AI in 2022, rising from 7% from 2018-2022 to 27% from 2018-2024.
In contrast, the rate of productivity growth in industries least exposed to AI declined from 10% to 9% over the same period.
Industries most exposed to AI saw threefold higher growth in revenue per employee (27%) compared to those ‘least exposed’ (9%) last year.
Additionally, the skills sought by employers are changing 66% faster in jobs ‘most exposed’ to AI, up from 25% last year.
Employer demand for formal degrees is declining for all jobs, but especially quickly for AI-exposed jobs.
The percentage of jobs AI augments that require a degree fell seven percentage points between 2019 and 2024 from 66% to 59%, and nine percentage points (53% to 44%) for jobs AI automates.
“In Ireland we are also seeing the productivity prize from AI: PwC’s 2025 Irish CEO survey showed that 44% of Irish CEOs reported AI had increased efficiencies in their employees’ time at work in the last 12 months," said Gerard McDonough, partner in workforce consulting at PwC Ireland.
"However, to reach full potential, close attention needs to be given to skills enhancement: PwC’s Irish 2025 GenAI Business Leaders survey revealed that 73% of Irish business leaders are of the view that AI will require most of their workforce to develop new skills.”
“AI’s rapid advance is not just re-shaping industries, but fundamentally altering the workforce and the skills required. This is not a situation that employers can easily buy their way out of. Even if they can pay the premium required to attract talent with AI skills, those skills can quickly become out of date without investment in the systems to help the workforce learn.”
If businesses are to turbocharge their growth and leverage the opportunity afforded by AI, they must put AI front-and-centre, according to PwC. The report recommends three key actions for businesses:
- See AI as a tool for enterprise-wide transformation and not just personal productivity.
- Treat AI as a growth strategy, not just an efficiency strategy. Ensure your workforce has the skills to make the most of AI’s power.
- Not losing sight of the importance of overall governance to build and retain the trust needed to maximise the opportunity presented.
“The research shows that the power of AI to deliver for businesses is only at the start of the transition," said David Lee, chief technology officer at PwC Ireland.
"As we roll out agentic AI at enterprise scale, we will see how the right combination of technology and culture can create dramatic new opportunities to reimage how organisations work and create value.”
(Pic: Getty Images)
