Global Outlook for AI Jobs and Skills

By FOSSlife Team, 07 June, 2023

Global spending on AI is expected to exceed $301 billion by 2026, according to a recent IDC report. And the 2023 Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum says that demand for AI and machine learning specialists is expected to grow by 40 percent.

In this article, we’ll look at the main areas of development along with the top job skills associated with the soaring growth of AI.

Job Postings

With the rapid increase in AI adoption and spending comes an increased need for skilled talent, and the following countries are listed as the global top spots for AI jobs (based on the percent of total job listings), according to the AI Index report from Stanford:

United States: 2.05% of total postings
Canada: 1.45%
Spain: 1.33%
Australia: 1.23%
Sweden: 1.20%

In 2022, 795,624 AI jobs were posted in the United States alone, says the AI Index report, and the top skill areas within those job postings were:

Machine learning
Artificial intelligence
Natural language processing
Neural networks
Autonomous driving
Visual image recognition
Robotics

Skills Needed

A recent digital skills survey from Salesforce says “nearly one-fourth of global workers rank AI skills as among the top three most important digital skills right now.” And, almost all (97%) believe that “businesses should prioritize AI skills in their employee development strategy.”

“Upskilling is critical across wide swaths of these emerging technologies,” according to the Salesforce survey. As a result, “data security skills (60%), ethical AI and automation skills (58%), and programming skills (57%) will become increasingly important in the workplace.”

According to the AI Index report, the top 10 skills associated with AI job postings in the United States are: