Dive Brief:
- The rise of AI is redefining workforce expectations, with AI engineering, operational efficiency and AI business strategy topping the list of fastest growing skills in today’s job market, according to LinkedIn’s 2026 Skills on the Rise report released last week.
- Yet while two-thirds of executives said they expect employees to proactively build AI skills in the next six months, less than half of U.S. professionals said they feel supported in advancing this skillset.
- LinkedIn found job postings requiring AI literacy skills grew by more than 70% year over year, while capabilities such as prompt engineering, model training and data annotation are seeing increased interest.
Dive Insight:
As organizations roll AI tools out across operations, employer demand is rising for technical skills tied to development and deployment.
Alongside higher expectations, worker anxiety is on the rise. More than 40% of U.S. professionals said they are concerned about lacking the skills needed for the future, while one in five said skills gaps are making their job search harder.
The disconnect is unfolding against a challenging hiring backdrop.
U.S. hiring levels remain below levels set during the COVID-19 pandemic, and job transitions are at a 10 year low, according to LinkedIn, limiting mobility across the job market.
The findings build on earlier signals of strain in the tech labor market. A February report from staffing firm Robert Half found nearly two-thirds of tech leaders said it has become more complex to hire skilled professionals compared with a year ago, while just 7% said they feel confident in their ability to fill in-demand roles.
AI and machine learning topped Robert Half’s list of hardest-to-find skills as well, alongside IT operations and infrastructure, governance and compliance, and cloud architecture — areas central to scaling AI safely and effectively.
The widening skills gap highlights the need to integrate AI into operations, embedding it early on and building literacy as the technology scales.
At the same time, LinkedIn’s data showed technical expertise alone won’t close the gap.
Demand for human-centric skills was also high, with a particular focus on leadership and people management, executive and stakeholder communication, risk and compliance management, financial operations and business growth skills.
As such, companies looking to upskill employees should keep these soft skills in mind as they work to roll out new technologies, with AI adoption as much an organizational and cultural shift as a technological one.
