Demand for AI Skills is Growing Across the Globe. Job Postings Show us How.

There are two major signs of a vibrant AI skills market: how much employers are clamoring for these emerging skills, and how fast that demand is increasing. Job postings provide a unique perspective into emerging technologies, because this is where employers show their hand. Companies have to specify the skills they want and need. So if the world is in a race to develop artificial intelligence, analyzing jobs and skills tells us who’s ahead, who is gaining, and what technologies matter.

Overall, demand for artificial intelligence skills has risen an average of 33% in the countries studied from 2019 to 2022. And while proportion of AI job postings remained small compared to the total marke, rangingfrom 0.84% in the US to 0.11% in New Zealand, those roles, like AI in general, are going to have a disproportionate impact on the job market.

OECD + Lightcast

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is among the globe's most influential international organizations, composed of 38 member countries. It serves as a premier platform for these nations to collaborate on economic policies and solutions. Through rigorous research, data analysis, and policy recommendations, the OECD assists its member countries in addressing a wide array of economic challenges, from fiscal and monetary policies to social and environmental issues.

By using Lightcast labor market data, OECD has the advantage of best-in-class insight on how the labor market actually works, using our rich global database with billions of current and historical postings. This partnership underscores our shared commitment to providing authoritative and data-driven intelligence that can empower governments and businesses to make well-informed decisions in the increasingly complex landscape of AI and labor markets.

The OECD report provides key insight for all the potential players in the job market:

• Businesses can identify the skills they need for AI development—and also see what their competitors are already doing.

• Governments can scope out global competition while making better local investments in economic development and training.

• Educators can determine which skills are likely to be in demand and create programs to meet those needs.

• Workers and students can better understand the trends in this fast-growing field. For those looking to switch into AI–or to get in at the start of this revolution–getting new skills mapped to what’s going on in their nation will be key to success.