What PwC measured
PwC's new barometer pulls from a massive dataset of global job postings and a deep dive into 2.4 million entry-level US roles to see how AI exposure shows up early in careers. One headline finding: AI job postings are now nearly double their 2024 level, and postings requesting AI competencies - for example, prompt engineering or machine learning - have grown 69%, compared with 9% for the overall jobs market since 2015.
Where are those gains clustering? Technology, media and telecommunications captured about 11% of AI job growth, with professional services at 6%. Health sits at the low end with less than 1%.
The two-track labour market and skills shift
The report sketches a clear fork in the road. In "professionalised" roles, AI takes on repetitive tasks so human expertise matters more - think radiologists or recruiters. In "democratised" roles, the tech makes the work easier for non-specialists - like IT service managers or medical secretaries. The first category is pulling ahead: job openings are growing at double the rate of the second, and pay is rising 42% faster.
That pattern starts at the bottom rung. Openings for these "seniorised" entry-level jobs are up 35% since 2019, while other entry-level postings are down 10%.
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Productivity, pay and the distribution of gains
The divergence is showing up in the numbers. Companies in the most AI exposed sectors posted 34% productivity growth in 2025 versus 2018, compared with 24% for firms least able to use AI. Inside that first group, a super-star cohort is emerging: within that cohort, the highest-performing 20% achieved 163% growth in average labour productivity versus 2018 - nearly five times the pace of the broader set of highly AI-exposed firms.
Hiring is not shrinking at the leaders either. Workforce growth at the most AI exposed companies reached 52% by 2025 off a 2018 base, outpacing 36% at the least exposed firms. Pay is following skills: workers possessing AI capabilities earned an average wage premium of 62%, up from 57% a year earlier, topping out at 118% in some fields like consumer markets and coming in at 16% in government and public sector roles.
Why this matters for your portfolio
In plain English: AI is rewarding companies that pair the tech with human judgement, while changing what entry-level work looks like and where wage gains accrue. For investors, the standouts are firms in AI exposed industries showing faster productivity and headcount growth, plus sectors willing to pay steep premiums for AI skills. That split - and the sectors capturing the bulk of AI job growth - is a useful lens when sizing up employers or industries in your portfolio.
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