The adoption of artificial intelligence is significantly boosting productivity and wages in the UK, according to new research by PwC.
Its 2024 Global AI Jobs Barometer report found sectors highly exposed to AI, such as financial services, are experiencing nearly a fivefold increase in productivity growth compared to less exposed sectors, highlighting AI’s huge potential and impact.
As well as measuring its impact on jobs, PwC’s study also noted the shortage of AI skills and the lengths companies are going to in order to attract the right talent.
Companies pay more for AI-skilled workers
In direct contrast to initial concerns that AI would replace human jobs, PwC’s report found that UK employers are prepared to pay an average 14% wage premium for jobs which require AI skills, with legal and tech sectors seeing the highest premiums of up to 58%. This puts the UK in second place globally, behind only the US, which is prepared to pay on average 25% more to those with the necessary AI skills.
PwC UK Chief Economist Barret Kupelian commented on the economical impact of AI: “In terms of the economic impact, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg - currently our findings suggest that the adoption of AI is concentrated in a few sectors of the economy, but once the technology improves and diffuses across other sectors of the economy, the future potential could be transformative.”
Since 2012, job postings requiring AI skills have grown 3.6 times faster than all job postings in the UK, slightly exceeding the global average. However, this considerable growth is shadowed by Singapore’s 13.5x increase.
Two in three (64%) British CEOs now agree that AI will require most of their workforce to develop new skills within the next three years.
Kupelian added: “As pickup of AI continues, this trend is likely to intensify, creating new roles whilst also reducing demand for some skills that can be done more efficiently using AI.”
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