AI Skills Top Global Talent Shortage for First Time
A ManpowerGroup survey of 39,000 employers across 41 countries reveals that AI and machine learning skills are now the most sought-after globally, overtaking traditional IT and engineering roles. The report finds that 72% of employers report difficulty filling roles, highlighting a significant skills gap as companies race to adopt artificial intelligence technologies.
- The 2026 ManpowerGroup survey specifies that the most in-demand AI skills are now AI Model & Application Development (20%) and AI Literacy (19%), which have displaced traditional IT & Data skills, now ranked seventh (17%). - Globally, the talent shortage varies significantly by country, with Germany (83%), France (74%), and the U.K. (73%) facing severe difficulties, while the U.S. reports a slightly below-average 69% shortage rate. China reports the least constrained major market at 48%. - Large companies with 1,000-4,999 employees report the greatest difficulty in finding talent (75%), which is 11 percentage points higher than the smallest firms with under 10 employees (64%). - In response to the skills gap, 91% of employers are adopting various strategies; the most common is upskilling and reskilling current employees (27%), followed by offering more schedule flexibility (20%). - The Information industry reports the highest talent shortage at 75%, closely followed by Hospitality and the Public Sector, Health & Social Services, both at 74%. - Specific in-demand technical AI skills include prompt engineering, applied machine learning, deep learning with frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow, and MLOps for model deployment. - Major technology companies are investing heavily in AI education to address the skills gap, with Google committing $1 billion to support AI education and job training programs in the U.S. and companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Intel partnering with community colleges to build the workforce pipeline. - A LinkedIn AI Talent Index indicates that Israel has the highest concentration of workers with AI-related skills, at 1.98% of its workforce, followed by Singapore (1.64%) and Luxembourg (1.44%).
