AI actually creates more employment opportunities

“AI makes people more valuable, not less, even in the roles that are easiest to automate.”

The notion that AI takes over jobs and replaces people is increasingly giving way to a more realistic perspective. According to PwC’s latest report, The Fearless Future: 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer, AI does not cause mass unemployment, but rather leads to increased productivity, higher wages, and a faster demand for new skills. This is confirmed by recent research from The Economist, which indicates that generative AI currently has little impact on employment levels. This is striking, as at almost the same time, Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, predicts that AI will replace up to 50% of white-collar entry-level jobs within five years.

PwC’s study analyzed nearly a billion job advertisements and thousands of corporate reports from 24 countries. The conclusion is clear: AI is fundamentally changing work, but it leads to higher productivity, better wages, and increased employment.

Summary: This is what AI is already doing

• 3x higher revenue growth per employee in sectors that apply AI broadly, such as companies involved in software development and publishing.
• 2x faster wage growth in sectors where AI plays a major role.
• 56% higher salary for individuals with AI skills.
• 66% faster change in required skills for jobs in which AI plays an increasingly significant role.

What did PwC investigate?

PwC combined three data sources:

• Job vacancy data (800+ million advertisements) from six continents.
• Financial data from thousands of companies.
• AI scores for professions and sectors to determine the extent of AI’s role.

The analysis distinguishes between:

• Augmentable roles – roles where AI supports human work.
• Automatable roles – roles where AI independently takes over tasks.

AI makes work more valuable, not less valuable

The report refutes six persistent myths about AI in the workplace:

1. Productivity

Myth: AI does not yet deliver tangible productivity gains.
Fact: In sectors where AI is widely deployed, such as companies involved in software development and publishing, productivity has nearly quadrupled since 2022. This is a clear contrast to sectors like logging, where AI application is much more limited and productivity gains consequently lag far behind.

2. Wages

Myth: AI depresses wages.
Fact: Wages rise twice as fast in sectors where AI is heavily utilized, even in roles that can be automated. See the examples on the following page.

3. Employment

Myth: AI makes jobs redundant.
Fact: Between 2019 and 2024, the number of jobs also grew in roles where AI is heavily utilized (+38%). This includes, for example, positions in the legal world, healthcare, and education.

4. Inequality

Myth: AI increases inequality.
Fact: Wage growth and employment are increasing in both automatable and augmentable roles. For instance, women more frequently work in roles exposed to AI development. If the full range of opportunities there can be utilized, wage inequality in those sectors will also decrease.

5. Loss of skills

Myth: AI makes work simpler and more monotonous.
Fact: AI actually creates more complex and creative roles, especially in automated functions. For example, the PwC report cites John, a customer service representative who thought AI would replace his job. On the contrary, John can now have AI handle simple tasks, allowing him to focus on supporting customers with more complex issues.

6. Loss of value

Myth: AI devalues work.
Fact: AI increases the value of work, provided you develop the right skills.

AI changes skills faster than ever

Skills are changing at an unprecedented pace:

• +66% change in skills in roles where AI is heavily utilized (compared to 25% in 2024).
• This change occurs most rapidly in automatable roles.
• Traditional degree requirements are disappearing: for AI-augmented roles, the demand for a degree has dropped from 66% to 59%.

According to PwC, work is rapidly shifting from executive to strategic. AI takes over routine tasks, allowing employees to focus more on creativity, decision-making, and complex issues. This requires different skills as well as more seniority in roles. At the same time, the traditional emphasis on degrees is fading: it is increasingly about what you can do today. A prime example of how AI changes roles is the position of the paralegal. Whereas paralegals were previously primarily occupied with manually reviewing documents, summarizing case law, and drafting standard texts, that work is changing rapidly. AI is partially taking over these routine tasks. As a result, the role itself is evolving: paralegals must now be able to utilize AI tools, but also demonstrate more than ever that they possess critical thinking skills, analytical capabilities, and the ability to collaborate effectively. The work becomes less repetitive, but more complex and valuable.

Those who are AI-proficient earn significantly more

Employees with AI skills, such as knowledge of voice recognition, machine learning, or the personalization of AI systems, earn an average of 56% more than colleagues in the same roles without those skills. Page 11 of the methodology behind the PwC report contains a list of such AI skills.

In some sectors, this even rises to:

• 102% in the energy sector.
• 64% in professional services.
• 60% in the financial sector.
• 18% in healthcare.

The market thus values AI expertise concretely and across all sectors.

Growth in both augmentable and automatable jobs

Between 2019 and 2024, the number of jobs grew in:

• Augmentable roles by an average of +54%.
• Automatable roles by an average of +41%.

In sectors such as healthcare, energy, and transport, growth in both categories is substantial. AI does not lead to downsizing, but to the restructuring of work.

Practical examples: how AI is already changing work

• Energy company SSE uses GenAI to analyze hundreds of audit documents. Result: more time for strategic work.
• Hospitals worldwide are automating document analysis in cancer care, leading to 50% more clinical insights and a 30% reduction in administrative burden.
• Southwest Airlines uses AI to free up staff from repetitive tasks. Result: more time for innovation.

What should your organization do now?

PwC recommends five concrete steps:

1. Use AI for organization-wide transformation, not just for isolated tools.
2. View AI as a growth strategy, not as a cost-cutting measure.
3. Invest in AI agents, digital assistants that perform tasks independently.
4. Develop skills focused on collaboration between humans and machines.
5. Build trust with transparent AI, sound governance, and ethical frameworks.

Conclusion
According to PwC, AI does not change work by taking it over, but by enriching it. Sectors that embrace AI see higher productivity, better wages, and sustained employment, even in roles that are easy to automate. The key lies in skills: those who invest in AI knowledge, collaboration with digital assistants, and flexibility become more valuable. Companies and professionals who deploy AI intelligently turn technology into a growth accelerator rather than a threat.