As the role of artificial intelligence becomes more prominent in everyday work, the qualities that make people uniquely human may be gaining value rather than losing it, a study released by a leading consultancy on Monday shows.
A new study by PwC, one of the world’s largest professional services and consulting firms, suggests that employers are increasingly looking for workers who can exercise judgment, think creatively and lead teams as AI takes over more routine tasks.
The report, which analyzed more than 1 billion job advertisements across six continents, points to a fast-changing labor market where the impact of AI is already visible in hiring patterns, wages and productivity.
PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer describes a "two-track" global labor market emerging because of AI.
On one track are "professionalized" roles. Here, AI acts like a powerful assistant, handling repetitive work so that experts can focus on higher-level thinking and human skills.
Examples include radiologists using AI to review scans faster, or recruiters spending more time on candidate relationships – these jobs are thriving.
On the other track are "democratized" roles. In these positions, AI makes the work simpler, allowing non-experts to perform tasks that once required more training. Examples include certain IT service managers or medical secretaries.
Professionalized roles are growing twice as fast as democratized ones and offering 42% faster wage growth since 2021.
Junior roles are among those most visibly reshaped by AI, with employers increasingly expecting early-career workers to handle tasks that once required more experience.
Based on an analysis of 2.4 million entry-level jobs in the U.S., PwC found that AI-exposed roles are seven times more likely to require senior-level skills such as leadership, creativity and decision-making.
At the same time, postings for these "seniorized" entry-level jobs have increased by 35% since 2019, while traditional entry-level positions have fallen by 10%.
The report suggests this is blurring the traditional career ladder, as workers are pushed to take on higher-level responsibilities earlier in their careers.
Demand for AI-related skills is also rising sharply, growing faster than the wider labor market.
