On average, American workers with artificial intelligence skills receive a pay raise of up to 25%, according to PwC, but some jobs can see increases of up to double that.
The consultancy analyzed half a billion job postings from 15 countries to study the impact of AI on employment, skills, wages and productivity. IN report published The company said Tuesday that the AI skills premium of 25% in the US is higher than 14% in the UK, 11% in Canada, 7% in Singapore and 6% in Australia.
Digging deeper into individual occupations, PwC found that US job postings for developers and database administrators requiring AI skills offered salaries 53% higher than postings in the same category that did not require AI skills.
This is not surprising as data centers are booming as generative AI technology requires massive amounts of power to train large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In fact, leading artificial intelligence chip supplier Nvidia reported that revenue more than tripled in the first quarter, driven by data center sales.
But lawyers can also increase their salaries. US job postings seeking lawyers with AI skills promise salaries 49% higher than postings for lawyers without AI skills.
Likewise, sales and marketing managers with AI skills can see a 43% pay increase, while financial analysts and accountants can see increases of 33% and 18%, respectively.
“Countries and sectors that have high demand for AI skills tend to see higher wage premiums, especially if there are skills shortages, while areas with a more abundant supply of AI talent are more likely to low premiums.” Mehdi Sahne, senior economist at PwC UK, said this. “While lower wage premiums may appear less favorable at first glance, all other things being equal they suggest a balance between labor supply and demand and have the potential to support greater AI adoption and innovation in the long term.”
PwC also showed that some “AI-impacted occupations,” such as customer service, saw job growth slow by 27%, suggesting AI is easing labor shortages.
The report notes that the data does not signal an era of job losses, but a period of more gradual growth.
However, demand for some custom skills is growing rapidly, while demand for those that AI can perform is falling. For example, according to PwC, demand for AI/machine learning inference skills grew by 113%, but demand for Javascript coding, which can be replaced by AI, fell by 37%. Elsewhere, demand for computer graphics skills fell by 30% and demand for cold calling skills fell by 37%.
But other skills that require more personal contact are in high demand. Yoga skills increased by 426%, sports training by 178%, child protection by 156%, and laser hair removal by 84%.
“Many of those predicting that AI will lead to dramatic job losses are asking the wrong question,” PwC said. “Those who predict that AI will have a negative impact on overall jobs often look back, wondering whether AI will be able to perform some tasks in the same way as they were performed in the past. Answer: yes. But the right question is: How will AI give us the ability to do entirely new things, creating new roles and even new industries?”
Earlier this month, Microsoft and LinkedIn’s annual 2024 Job Trends Index found that 71% of executives prefer hiring candidates with AI skills over those with more traditional experience, and only 25% of firms plan to provide training generative AI this year.
This could mean an advantage for younger candidates, as the report shows that 77% of executives intend to delegate increased responsibilities to early-career employees with AI skills.