The AI Divide: How Artificial Intelligence is Reshaping the Global Job Market

According to a recent survey by PwC, the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating a significant divide between companies that are heavily invested in the technology and those that are not. The 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer, which analyzed over a billion job ads from six continents, reveals that AI is driving a two-track labor market in which skills like judgment, leadership, and creativity are becoming more critical and more rewarded.

The survey found that companies that are most exposed to AI are experiencing significant productivity gains, rising wages, and increased headcount. This is because AI is automating routine tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher-value work that requires human skills such as judgment, creativity, and leadership. As a result, these companies are expanding faster than their peers, with financial services emerging as one of the fastest-moving sectors in this transition.

Chris Mills, a partner at PwC Bermuda, noted that the traditional connection between experience and expertise is shifting. With AI handling many routine tasks, there is now greater emphasis on judgment, leadership, and adaptability much earlier in professional journeys. This means that employees need to develop these skills earlier in their careers in order to remain relevant in the job market.

The survey also found that companies that are using AI to amplify human expertise, accelerate innovation, and create new sources of value are seeing the greatest returns on their investment. These companies are pulling ahead of their peers in terms of productivity and growth, while companies that focus primarily on automation are falling behind. As Joe Atkinson, global chief AI officer at PwC, noted, a new divide is emerging between different models for talent and value creation.

The Jobs Barometer combines large-scale labor market, company financial, and occupational task data to understand how AI is reshaping jobs, skills, wages, and productivity across the global economy. The survey found that professionalized roles, in which AI automates routine tasks so human judgment and expertise are emphasized, are growing faster than roles that are democratized by AI. This means that employees need to develop skills that are complementary to AI, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.

Companies that are operating in the most AI-exposed sectors recorded 34% productivity growth in 2025 relative to 2018, compared to 24% for companies that are least able to use AI. This highlights the importance of investing in AI and developing the skills needed to work effectively with the technology. As the job market continues to evolve, it is likely that the divide between companies that are invested in AI and those that are not will only continue to grow.

In order to remain competitive, companies need to prioritize investing in AI and developing the skills of their employees. This includes providing training and development programs that focus on human skills such as judgment, leadership, and creativity. By doing so, companies can ensure that they are well-positioned to take advantage of the benefits of AI and remain competitive in the global job market.