A new report from PwC, released on Monday, confirms that as artificial intelligence takes over more routine tasks across European economies, employers are placing a growing premium on distinctly human capabilities—judgment, creativity, and leadership. The 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer, based on an analysis of more than one billion job postings across six continents, offers a detailed picture of how AI is reshaping the continent's labour markets.
Joe Atkinson, PwC's Global Chief AI Officer, said: "Across the global economy, we're beginning to see a new divide emerge between different models for talent and value creation." The report identifies two broad categories of roles emerging in this new landscape. In "professionalised" jobs—such as radiologists and recruiters—AI handles routine tasks but human expertise remains central. In "democratised" roles—like IT service managers and medical secretaries—AI enables less experienced workers to perform at higher levels.
According to PwC, professionalised roles have seen job growth at twice the rate of democratised ones, and salaries in those occupations have risen 42% faster. These findings align with other international research, including the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, which found that 39% of workers' core skills are expected to change by 2030, with analytical thinking, leadership, resilience, and creative thinking among the fastest-growing capabilities sought by employers.
AI Drives Hiring and Wage Growth, Not Cuts
Contrary to fears that AI will lead to widespread job losses, PwC's analysis suggests that companies making the most effective use of AI are pulling ahead in both productivity and hiring. Atkinson noted: "The companies seeing the greatest returns on AI are using it to amplify human expertise, accelerate innovation and create entirely new sources of value." The top 20% of the most AI-exposed companies achieved average labour productivity growth of 163% relative to 2018—nearly five times higher than the average among AI-exposed firms overall.
Businesses with the highest exposure to AI recorded headcount growth of 52% compared with 36% among the least AI-exposed firms, relative to 2018 levels. Wage growth was also stronger, at 24% versus 17%. These trends are playing out even as major employers like Meta, Cisco, Oracle, and Citigroup announce thousands of job cuts while investing heavily in AI. The report challenges the narrative that AI will slow hiring or trigger mass redundancies across Europe.
AI Skills Command a Growing Wage Premium
Demand for workers with specific AI expertise has surged. Jobs requiring AI skills have grown by 69% since 2019—almost eight times faster than the overall jobs market, which expanded by 9% over the same period. The average wage premium attached to AI skills has risen to 62%, though it varies significantly by industry: as high as 118% in consumer markets and as low as 16% in government and public sector roles. The technology, media, and telecommunications sector accounted for the largest share of AI job growth at 11%, followed by professional services at 6%. Healthcare recorded the lowest share, at less than 1%.
The report also highlights changes at the entry level. An analysis of 2.4 million entry-level jobs in the US found that positions most exposed to AI are now seven times more likely to require skills traditionally associated with more senior staff—leadership, creativity, and interpersonal communication. Demand for these entry-level roles has increased by 35% since 2019, while vacancies for other entry-level jobs fell by 10%. This shift raises questions about how younger workers gain experience, as some experts warn that AI may compress the traditional career ladder, expecting junior staff to demonstrate higher-level skills earlier.
For European policymakers and business leaders, the report underscores the need to invest in education and training that foster uniquely human skills. As AI continues to reshape labour markets from Berlin to Barcelona, the ability to combine technical expertise with judgment and creativity will likely define the winners in the continent's evolving economy. For more on how AI is transforming work, see our coverage of the trust gap between humans and machines and the rise of humanoid robots at VivaTech 2026.
