New research and corporate hiring decisions suggest artificial intelligence is automating routine work while increasing demand for judgment, leadership and decision-making skills at the start of professional careers.
LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO, June 2026 — PwC plans to reduce its U.S. entry-level hiring by approximately one-third over the next three years as artificial intelligence automates tasks historically assigned to junior employees, highlighting a broader shift underway across global labor markets.
The decision came days after the firm published its 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer, an analysis of more than one billion job advertisements across 27 countries and territories. The report found that entry-level jobs highly exposed to AI are now seven times more likely to require traditionally senior skills such as leadership, strategic thinking, judgment and stakeholder management than comparable roles with lower AI exposure.
PwC describes the trend as the “seniorization” of entry-level work.
Job postings for these evolving roles have increased 35% since 2019, while comparable junior positions that did not transition toward higher-value responsibilities declined 10%, according to the report.
“When we made the plans to hire that many people, the world looked very, very different,” PwC Global Chairman Mohamed Kande told the BBC. “Now we have artificial intelligence.”
The findings arrive as companies accelerate the deployment of generative AI across software development, customer support, administration, research and document-processing functions.
The 2026 AI Index published by Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute found that AI systems continue to improve rapidly in coding, data analysis and knowledge-work applications. Researchers reported that productivity gains remain strongest in structured environments where tasks can be standardized and repeated.
That shift is changing the traditional career ladder.
Tasks once assigned to graduates and junior employees are increasingly being automated, reducing opportunities for workers to gain experience through routine work. At the same time, employers are placing greater emphasis on communication, judgment, adaptability and decision-making skills that are harder to automate.
PwC found that workers possessing AI-related skills command an average wage premium of 62%, up from 57% a year earlier. Roles requiring AI expertise expanded 69% during the past year, compared with roughly 9% growth across the broader labor market.
The wage premium varies significantly across industries. AI-skilled workers in Consumer Markets command a wage premium of 118%, while Technology, Media and Telecommunications roles carry an 84% premium. Professional Services and Financial Services positions offer premiums of 67% and 53%, respectively.
Industries with the highest exposure to AI recorded productivity growth roughly 40% higher than sectors with lower exposure, according to PwC.
Corporate hiring decisions increasingly reflect those changes.
Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff told investors that the company’s Agentforce platform is “delivering labor for companies,” describing a system capable of performing work traditionally handled by employees. The company has promoted AI agents as a way for businesses to automate customer-service and administrative functions while reducing operating costs.
IBM Chief Executive Arvind Krishna has also outlined a changing workforce model. In an interview with Bloomberg, Krishna said he could see roughly 30% of certain back-office functions being replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.
Research from Indeed Hiring Lab similarly found employers increasingly favoring experienced workers capable of using AI to augment higher-level problem solving rather than relying on junior staff for routine tasks. AI-exposed occupations have experienced greater pressure on early-career hiring than more senior positions, according to the research.
Human resources leaders say organizations are now being forced to rethink how workers gain experience and develop professional skills.
“AI is reshaping the talent landscape and exposing the limits of traditional talent and learning models,” Kathy Diaz, Chief People Officer at Cognizant, said during the release of a joint Cognizant-Pearson workforce study. “With the fundamental shift in entry-level tasks and skill requirements changing rapidly, organizations must rethink how they hire and develop talent at pace.”
LinkedIn’s Economic Graph research points to rising demand for adaptability, communication, leadership and critical-thinking skills as employers seek workers capable of operating alongside AI systems.
“Globally, 75% of companies agree that people skills are even more important in the age of AI,” said Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist. “Employers are now seeking employees who possess a blend of uniquely human capabilities like adaptability, problem-solving, and critical thinking.”
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report projects that technological change, including AI adoption, will reshape 22% of existing jobs and alter 39% of core job skills by 2030.
While the organization estimates that technological transformation could create 170 million jobs globally while displacing 92 million, the transition is unlikely to be evenly distributed across professions or experience levels.
For many employers, the question is no longer whether AI will change work. The emerging challenge is how new workers gain experience in a labor market where many traditional entry-level tasks are increasingly performed by machines.
