PwC Study Finds AI Makes Workers “More Valuable, Not Less”
Despite widespread concerns that artificial intelligence will automate jobs and reduce workers’ wages, new research from professional services firm PwC reveals that AI is actually increasing worker value. “What causes people to react in this environment is the speed of the tech innovation,” PwC Global Chief AI Officer Joe Atkinson told CNBC Make It. “The reality is that the tech innovation is moving really, really fast – at a pace we’ve never seen before.”
Atkinson emphasized that the report’s findings show AI is creating jobs rather than eliminating them. “The challenge is not that there won’t be jobs. It’s that workers need to be prepared to take them,” said Carol Stubbings, PwC UK’s global chief commercial officer, noting that while every industrial revolution creates more jobs than it eliminates, the required skills for these new positions often differ significantly from previous requirements.
The comprehensive 2025 AI Jobs Barometer report analyzed over 800 million job advertisements and thousands of company financial reports across six continents, challenging six prevalent myths about AI’s impact on employment.
Debunking the Myths
Productivity
Myth: AI hasn’t significantly impacted productivity.
Reality: Since 2022, productivity growth in AI-ready industries has nearly quadrupled, while industries least exposed to AI (like physical therapy) saw slight declines. PwC’s data shows software publishing – among the most AI-exposed sectors – achieving three times higher revenue per employee growth than less exposed industries.
Wages
Myth: AI negatively impacts workers’ wages and bargaining power.
Reality: Workers with AI skills now earn 56% more than their non-AI-skilled counterparts in the same occupations, up from 25% last year. Wages in AI-exposed industries are rising twice as fast as in less exposed sectors.
Job Numbers
Myth: AI will decrease overall job numbers.
Reality: While occupations with lower AI exposure grew 65% between 2019-2024, even highly AI-exposed occupations saw robust (though slower) growth at 38%.
Inequality
Myth: AI will worsen inequality in opportunities and wages.
Reality: The report found rising wages and employment for both augmentable and automatable jobs. Employer demand for formal degrees is declining faster in AI-exposed positions, creating broader opportunities for millions.
Skills
Myth: AI “deskills” automated jobs.
Reality: AI actually enriches jobs by freeing employees from tedious tasks to focus on complex skills and decision-making. Data entry clerks, for example, can evolve into higher-value data analyst roles.
Automation
Myth: AI devalues highly automated jobs.
Reality: Highly automatable jobs are seeing rising wages while becoming more complex and creative, ultimately increasing worker value.
Strategic Implications for Workforce Development
The study offers a counterintuitive perspective on job growth in the context of declining working-age populations in many countries.
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