AI Boosts Productivity and Wages in Tech Sectors, PwC Study Reveals

AI hype fuels pay rise - but only if you're in the right gig

Software among the sectors seeing a productivity boost, PwC claims Sectors in which AI can be readily used for some tasks - including the software industry - have seen higher productivity and wage growth than others, according to research by PwC. In an analysis of nearly one billion job ads worldwide between 2018 and 2024, the global consultancy giant says it found that AI-exposed industries have more than three times higher growth in revenue generated by each employee than other sectors. Growth in revenue per employee went up during the period when LLMs emerged, from 7 percent annually between 2018 and 2022 to 27 percent between 2018 and 2024. Meanwhile, growth in the same measure fell slightly in industries less affected by AI, such as mining and hospitality, the researchers said. With productivity comes higher wages. Jobs requiring AI skills carried an 11 percent salary premium in 2024 compared with those that did not. Information and communication, financial services, and professional services have seen a big rise in job postings requiring AI expertise, PwC found. Umang Paw, chief technology officer at PwC UK, stated: "There are still many unknowns about AI's potential. By highlighting a correlation between industries that are using AI the most and revenue growth, job vacancies, and wages, our findings offer a signal of what AI could deliver. "AI can provide stardust to those ready to adapt, but risks leaving others behind. A concerted effort is needed to expand access to technology and training to ensure the benefits are widely shared. In the Intelligence Age, the fusion of AI with technologies like real-time data analytics - and businesses broadening their products and services - will create new industries and fresh job opportunities." However, the research found that job openings in occupations which might use AI have been growing at a slower pace compared to other sectors. Between 2019 and 2024, occupations exposed to AI saw growth in vacancies of 12 percent, compared with 50 percent for less exposed occupations. The gap has expanded over time, particularly since the advent of GenAI in 2022, PwC said. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said about 30 percent of code in at least some of the Windows titan's repositories was written by AI. Microsoft finds AI is best at writing entirely new code rather than reworking older material, he said. ®

PwC finds number of jobs and wages rising despite AI risk

In Ireland, AI-exposed roles have almost doubled since 2019, PwC report says. A new PwC report finds that jobs exposed to artificial intelligence grew by nearly 40pc despite risk from the tech. The firm's latest Global AI Jobs Barometer analysed nearly one billion job ads from across the world and found that AI is making employees more valuable, productive and capable of commanding higher wages. According to the report, Irish wages are growing twice as fast in industries more exposed to AI, as opposed to less exposed. AI-skilled workers saw a wage premium of 56pc on average last year - doubling from 25pc the year before. Business productivity has nearly quadrupled since GenAI began speedily proliferating throughout industries such as finance, software and publishing in 2022, PwC says. While in contrast, productivity growth declined in sectors less exposed to AI, such as mining and hospitality. As a result, employees skilled in AI are bringing higher revenue to their workplace. The PwC report finds that industries most exposed to AI saw three-times higher growth in the revenue brought in by a single employee last year. "AI is amplifying and democratising expertise, enabling employees to multiply their impact and focus on higher-level responsibilities," said PwC Ireland director Laoise Mullane. With the right foundations, both companies and workers can re-define their roles and industries and emerge leaders in their field, particularly as the full gambit of applications becomes clearer." However, occupations less exposed to AI saw stronger job growth at 65pc, when compared to more exposed sectors. Still, the growth exceeds expectations, finds PwC. Moreover, jobs that require such AI skills continue to grow faster than all jobs - rising 7.5pc from last year, even as total job postings fell by 11.3pc. In Ireland, the study finds that job numbers in AI-exposed occupations have grown by nearly 94pc since 2019. There is also a higher demand for roles that require AI-related skills. PwC says that this transformation means that workers need to reskill and upskill more frequently. Stemming from this report, PwC recommends that businesses see AI as a tool for enterprise-wide transformation and treat the technology as a growth strategy and not just an efficiency strategy. "In Ireland we are also seeing the productivity prize from AI. PwC's 2025 Irish CEO survey showed that 44pc of Irish CEOs reported AI had increased efficiencies in their employees' time at work in the last 12 months," said Gerard McDonough, a partner at PwC Ireland. "However, to reach full potential, close attention needs to be given to skills enhancement. PwC's Irish 2025 GenAI Business Leaders survey revealed that 73pc of Irish business leaders are of the view that AI will require most of their workforce to develop new skills." Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.