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Time of India
29-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI skills now fuel a 28% salary boost, with non-tech roles in content, HR, and education leading the surge: Global report finds
AI skills now boost 28% salary in non-tech fields: Global report finds Artificial Intelligence is no longer just the concern of coders and data scientists. A new global analysis by labour market research firm Lightcast, titled Beyond the Buzz , reveals that AI skills now lead to a 28% salary premium, even in roles outside the tech sector. Based on over 1.3 billion job postings around the world, the report highlights a dramatic shift: non-technical fields like content creation, HR, education, and finance are seeing a surge in demand for AI-literate professionals. While automation is leading to layoffs in some areas, workers who understand how to use AI tools are not just surviving, they're earning significantly more. AI moves beyond IT According to Lightcast, in 2019, 61% of AI-related job postings were in IT and computer science. By 2024, this figure dropped to 49%, indicating a broad diffusion of AI skills into mainstream sectors. Employers across industries are integrating AI-powered tools into day-to-day workflows, from recruitment and content generation to financial modeling and curriculum design. This means AI fluency is now a cross-sector expectation, not just a tech job requirement. Generative AI drives hiring trends The biggest accelerant? Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Midjourney, and DALL·E. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Live Comfortably: 60m2 prefabricated bungalow for the elderly in Jatiwaringin Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo Lightcast reports that since 2022, job postings mentioning generative AI in non-tech roles have jumped 800%. These tools are transforming routine and creative tasks, making AI-literate candidates far more valuable, even in fields like communications, training, and admin. Sectors leading AI adoption Lightcast identifies several key non-technical sectors where AI demand is rising fastest: Content and Communications: AI is being used for content drafting, social media planning, SEO, and visual generation. Human Resources: Recruiters use AI to automate resume screening, candidate outreach, and onboarding flows. Education: Schools and ed-tech firms are applying AI to personalize instruction, automate grading, and develop adaptive learning tools. Finance and Research: AI supports forecasting, portfolio analysis, and academic summarization. These industries are actively recruiting AI-fluent professionals, even if they don't have a technical degree. A clear pay advantage The Beyond the Buzz report shows that roles requiring AI skills pay, on average, $18,000 (₹15 lakh) more per year than similar roles without AI requirements. That's a 28% salary uplift, even in mid-level or entry roles. This premium is largely due to a growing talent shortage: companies are eager to adopt AI tools but face a gap in employees who can confidently use them. Those who bring AI competence to the table instantly become more valuable. The automation paradox While AI is creating high-paying opportunities, it's also behind layoffs in customer support, content production, and operations, where repetitive tasks are being automated. However, Lightcast notes that employees who understand AI tools are less likely to be laid off, often reassigned to higher-value strategic roles. The message is clear: AI won't replace your job—but someone who knows how to use AI might. How students and professionals can respond AI literacy is becoming a career survival skill. Whether you're a student, early-career professional, or mid-level manager, here's how to prepare: Learn the tools: Start with ChatGPT, Copilot, Notion AI, and Midjourney. Use them for real tasks. Take micro-courses: Coursera, Google, and LinkedIn Learning offer short courses on AI fundamentals and prompt engineering. Update your resume: Include specific AI tools and workflows you've used or mastered. Apply AI in projects: From thesis work to business ideas, showcase how you're using AI to add value. The bottom line Lightcast's report confirms a major shift: AI fluency is no longer optional for career growth. From content creators to educators, those who learn to work with AI tools are not just staying relevant: they're commanding better pay and stronger roles. As generative AI continues to reshape how we work, non-tech professionals who adapt will lead the next wave of high-impact careers. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Time of India
29-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI drives tech layoffs but boosts US salaries by $18,000 in non-tech fields, study reveals
US jobs with AI skills pay 28% more as non-tech sectors embrace automation. (AI Image) Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving major changes across the US labor market, according to a new report by labor market analytics firm Lightcast. While the tech industry has seen widespread layoffs, non-tech sectors are experiencing a rise in job opportunities and salaries tied to AI proficiency. The "Beyond the Buzz" report, based on an analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, reveals a significant salary premium—28% on average, equating to nearly $18,000 more annually—for roles requiring AI skills outside traditional tech functions. The study illustrates the widening gap between declining tech roles and growing AI-enabled positions across other industries. AI-linked layoffs accelerate in the tech sector The tech industry, once the center of AI innovation, is now undergoing a contraction due to increased automation. According to the Lightcast report, AI-powered tools are replacing roles in software engineering, IT support, and administrative services. Microsoft alone has announced 15,000 job cuts, even as it commits $80 billion to AI investments. As of the latest figures cited by the study, up to 80,000 tech jobs have been impacted by layoffs driven by AI integration. The share of AI jobs within IT and computer science has dropped from 61% in 2019 to 49% in 2024, indicating a shift in where AI skills are in demand. As reported by Fortune, Lightcast noted a continuing decline in traditional tech roles and a simultaneous expansion of AI across other industries. AI job demand expands into non-tech sectors AI roles are no longer confined to Silicon Valley or computer science labs. In 2024, more than half of all job postings requiring AI skills were outside the tech industry. According to Lightcast data, marketing, education, HR, finance, manufacturing, and customer service have emerged as leading sectors integrating AI capabilities. Job postings mentioning generative AI skills outside IT and computer science rose 800% since 2022. Tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and DALL-E have driven this increase, changing workflows in sectors such as marketing, design, and education. Lightcast's Vice President of Research, Innovation, and Talent Insights, Cole Napper, told Fortune that AI's spread across industries lacks a clear pattern and even includes the arts. Key AI-Related Labor Market Statistics from Lightcast Study Category Statistic / Figure Details Salary premium for AI-skilled roles 28% higher Equivalent to nearly $18,000 more per year outside tech sector Increase in salary with 2+ AI skills 43% premium AI-proficient candidates with multiple skills earn significantly more Job losses in tech due to AI Up to 80,000 jobs impacted Includes Microsoft's cut of 15,000 jobs Microsoft AI investment $80 billion Committed while cutting jobs Decline in AI jobs within IT & computer science From 61% in 2019 to 49% in 2024 Shows AI job demand moving beyond core tech roles Generative AI job postings growth (non-tech) 800% increase since 2022 Driven by tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Microsoft Copilot Job postings mentioning generative AI (2024) 66,000+ Nearly 4× increase from previous year Large language modeling jobs (2024) 19,500 postings Second most common AI skill Top sectors seeing AI-driven pay increases Customer/client support, sales, manufacturing Non-tech sectors experiencing largest wage gains AI jobs outside tech sector More than 50% of all AI-skilled roles in 2024 Signals shift of AI adoption into broader US economy Generative AI and hybrid skills lead salary gains In 2024, over 66,000 job postings in the US mentioned generative AI skills, marking a nearly fourfold increase from the prior year. Other in-demand skills include large language modeling (present in 19,500 postings), ChatGPT, and prompt engineering. Lightcast data shows that workers with two or more AI-related skills see up to a 43% premium on advertised salaries. Sectors such as sales, customer support, and manufacturing are reporting the largest pay increases for AI-proficient workers. Christina Inge, founder of Thoughtlight, told Fortune that AI-fluent employees in customer service know how to write prompts, interpret AI outputs, and troubleshoot, adding that this hybrid expertise is "well worth the extra pay. " Soft skills remain essential in AI roles While technical skills remain important, AI-enabled roles also demand communication, leadership, and problem-solving abilities. According to the Lightcast report, these soft skills are among the top 10 most-requested in AI-related job postings, alongside machine learning and AI foundations. Fortune reported that Lightcast's findings suggest a shift toward enterprise-wide AI fluency, with companies training non-technical teams to integrate AI. Napper told Fortune there is a "cost to complacency," noting that workers who fail to adapt risk significant salary disadvantages. Traditional tech shrinks as AI creates broader opportunity The report concludes that while traditional tech roles face automation-driven reductions, AI skills are driving new opportunities and higher wages in non-tech sectors. Lightcast plans to release further research on how these trends affect different income levels, as stated by Napper in his interview with Fortune. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Time of India
29-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
As AI replaces tech roles, salaries in other sectors receive $18,000 boost
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Job listings that mention artificial intelligence (AI) skills offer salaries that are, on average, 28% higher, which translates to approximately $18,000 more per year, compared to roles without such requirements, according to a report by market intelligence firm the data challenges the common belief that AI adoption is mostly confined to the tech industry. As of 2024, more than half (51%) of all AI-related job postings are now in non-tech sectors, marking a shift in how AI is impacting the broader labour market. Since 2022, generative AI (GenAI) roles in industries outside traditional tech have surged by 800%.Meanwhile, the share of AI-focussed job postings in IT and computer science has declined from 61% in 2019 to 49% in 2024, indicating a shrinking demand for AI skills in core tech roles as many roles become trend has deep economic implications. While certain highly automatable tech jobs face the risk of being replaced, many non-technical professionals are now seeing new career paths and better Lightcast report highlights notable growth in AI skill requirements across five major career domains:8% of all job listings in this field now mention AI skill requirements, with annual growth hitting 50%. Demand is particularly high for SEO specialists, where 19% of postings require at least one AI skill, and 8% list multiple AI all sectors, HR has seen a 66% year-on-year (YoY) growth. Talent acquisition and recruiting managers are leading adopters, with 3.9% of roles requiring one AI skill and 0.6% needing more than still early in adoption, demand is rapidly rising, with 40% annual growth. Currently, only 1.3% of finance roles mention AI, but financial quantitative analysts are in the lead, with 12.6% of postings requiring a single AI skill and 13.3% needing multiple skills.A steady 9% annual growth shows a more established use of AI and not an explosive one. Around 6% of science and research postings now require AI skills. Researchers and research associates are at the forefront, with 5.7% requiring a single skill and 8.2% demanding multiple sector is seeing 18% annual growth in AI-related roles, though adoption remains low overall. Only 1.3% of job postings in education mention AI skills. Curriculum designers lead the way, with 3.7% of roles requiring one AI skill and 1.8% requiring multiple skills.
Indian Express
29-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Job postings for non-tech roles requiring AI skills are on the rise, new report finds
As rounds of layoffs, especially in the tech sector, continue to weaken employee morale amid mass firings driven by AI, a new report from Lightcast reveals that job postings for non-tech roles requiring AI skills are increasing in value. Lightcast's new Beyond the Buzz report, based on an analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, shows that these roles offer salaries 28 per cent higher, an average of nearly $18,000 more per year. 'Companies that continue treating AI as a niche technical skill will find themselves competing for talent with organizations that have embedded AI literacy across their entire workforce,' Cole Napper, VP of research and insights at Lightcast, said in a press release. Interestingly, the research highlights a growing divide in tech and non-tech hiring. Even though job postings for AI skills in tech roles remain strong, the proportion of AI jobs within IT and computer science has declined, dropping from 61 per cent in 2019 to just 49 per cent in 2024. This suggests that traditional tech roles are continuing to decline as companies increasingly incorporate AI into everyday work. In fact, job postings mentioning generative AI skills outside of IT and computer science have surged an astonishing 800 per cent since 2022, driven by the rise of tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and others. Sectors such as marketing, human resources, education, science and research, and finance have seen the fastest AI adoption, with each rapidly integrating AI tools into their workflows. This helps explain why many companies are cutting roles in content creation, operations, customer service, and HR, areas where generative AI and agentic tools are becoming increasingly capable. Tech companies have been cutting jobs or freezing hiring due to AI and automation. CEOs are acknowledging that AI's impact is real this time, as layoffs continue to affect tech workers globally, especially in the US, though companies in India continue to hire. However, some companies haven't explicitly cited AI as the reason for downsizing. Microsoft, for example, has cut over 15,000 roles while simultaneously increasing its investment in AI. In the midst of job losses and layoffs, one thing is becoming clear: AI skills can help employees stay relevant – and they can be learned. On the other hand, AI engineers continue to see their pay packages surge.
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI is driving mass layoffs in tech, but it's boosting salaries by $18,000 a year everywhere else, study says
You've read about it all over, including in Fortune Intelligence. Maybe you or friends have been impacted: artificial intelligence is already transforming work, not least hiring and firing. Nowhere is the impact more visible than in the labor market. The technology industry, the original epicenter of AI adoption, is now seeing many of its own workers displaced by the very innovations they helped create. Employers, racing to integrate AI into everything from cloud infrastructure to customer support, are trimming human headcount in software engineering, IT support, and administrative functions. The rise of AI-powered automation is accelerating layoffs in the tech sector, with impacted employees as high as 80,000 in one count. Microsoft alone is trimming 15,000 jobs while committing $80 billion to new AI investments. But labor market intelligence firm Lightcast is offering a ray of hope going forward. Job postings for non-tech roles that require AI skills are soaring in value. Lightcast's new 'Beyond the Buzz' report, based on analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, shows that these postings offer 28% higher salaries—an average of nearly $18,000 more per year. The Lightcast research underscores the split in tech and non-tech hiring: job postings for AI skills in tech roles remain robust, but the proportion of AI jobs within IT and computer science has fallen, dropping from 61% in 2019 to just 49% in 2024. This signals an ongoing contraction of traditional tech roles as AI claims an ever-larger share of the work. AI demand explodes beyond tech Rather than stifling workforce prospects, Lightcast's research suggests that AI is dispersing opportunity across the broader economy. More than half of all jobs requesting AI skills in 2024 appeared outside the tech sector—a radical reversal from previous years, when AI was confined to Silicon Valley and computer science labs. Fields like marketing, HR, finance, education, manufacturing, and customer service are rapidly integrating AI tools, from generative AI platforms that craft marketing content to predictive analytics engines that optimize supply chains and recruitment. In fact, job postings mentioning generative AI skills outside IT and computer science have surged an astonishing 800% since 2022, catalyzed by the proliferation of tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and DALL-E. Marketing, design, education, and HR are some of the fastest growers in AI adoption—each adapting to new toolkits, workflows, and ways of creating value. Cole Napper, VP of research, innovation, and talent insights at Lightcast, told Fortune in an interview that he was struck by the lack of a discernible pattern for which industries were most affected by the explosion of AI skills present in job postings, noting that the arts come top of the list. AI skills are in demand For the workforce at large, AI proficiency is emerging as one of today's most lucrative skill investments. Possessing two or more AI skills sends paychecks even higher, with a 43% premium on advertised salaries. In 2024, more than 66,000 job postings specifically mentioned generative AI as a skill, a nearly fourfold increase from the prior year, according to the Lightcast's 2025 Artificial Intelligence Index Report. Large language modeling was the second most common AI skill, which showed up in 19,500 open job posts. Postings listing ChatGPT and prompt engineering as skills ranked third and fourth in frequency, respectively. Sectors such as customer/client support, sales, and manufacturing reported the largest pay bumps for AI-skilled workers, as companies race to automate routine functions and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Christina Inge, founder of Thoughtlight, an AI marketing service, told Fortune in a message AI isn't just automating busywork, it's also becoming a tool AI-fluent workers can leverage to increase their own value to a company—and to outperform their peers. Take, for example, someone in sales using AI to create more targeted conversations to close deals faster, Inge wrote. The same can be said for customer service workers. '[Customer service workers fluent in AI] know how to interpret AI outputs, write clear prompts, and troubleshoot when things go off script,' Inge said. 'That combination of human judgment and AI fluency is hard to find and well worth the extra pay.' In fields like marketing and science, even single AI skills can yield large returns, while more technical positions gravitate to specialists with advanced machine learning or generative AI expertise. Crucially, the most valued AI-enabled roles demand more than just technical wizardry. Employers prize a hybrid skillset: communication, leadership, problem-solving, research, and customer service are among the 10 most-requested skills in AI-focused postings, alongside technical foundations like machine learning and artificial intelligence. 'While generative AI excels at tasks like writing and coding, uniquely human abilities—such as communication, management, innovation, and complex problem-solving—are becoming even more valuable in the AI era,' the study says. Winners and losers The emerging repercussions are striking. Tech workers whose roles are readily automated face rising displacement—unless they can pivot quickly into emerging areas that meld business, technical, and people skills. Meanwhile, millions of workers outside of tech are poised to translate even basic AI literacy into new roles or wage gains. The competitive edge now lies with organizations and professionals agile enough to combine AI capabilities with human judgement, creativity, and business acumen. For companies, the risk is clear: treating AI as an isolated technical specialty is now a liability. Winning firms are investing to embed AI fluency enterprise-wide, upskilling their marketing teams, HR departments, and finance analysts to build a future-ready workforce. AI may be the source of turmoil in Silicon Valley boardrooms, but its economic dividends are flowing rapidly to workers—and companies—in every corner of the economy. For those able to adapt, AI skills are not a harbinger of job loss, but a passport to higher salaries and new career possibilities. Still, the research doesn't indicate exactly where in the income levels the higher postings are coming, so Napper said it's possible that we are seeing some compression, with higher-paid tech jobs being phased out and lower-paying positions being slightly better-paying. Napper said the trend of AI skills cropping up in job postings has exploded over the past few years, and he doesn't expect a slowdown anytime soon. Napper said there's a 'cost to complacency'—one that includes a significant salary cut. He added that the 28% premium, Lightcast plans to release follow-up research on what level of the income latter the trend is hitting the most. For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
