The first direction concerns "professionalised" roles, in which AI automates routine tasks and places greater emphasis on human judgement and expertise. The second concerns "democratised" roles, in which the technology makes the work itself more accessible to non-experts. Demand for the first category is growing faster.

"The difference between a leader and the rest is no longer about who automates more, but who manages to combine AI with human skills to innovate and open new markets, and this productivity and growth gap is deepening year by year," said Gabriel Voicilă, Technology Partner, PwC Romania. Professionalised roles, such as recruiters, are seeing job availability grow twice as fast and salary growth 42% higher than democratised roles, such as IT service managers.

For junior staff, AI appears to be increasing demand for senior-level skills. Based on an analysis of 2.4 million entry-level jobs in the US, those with the greatest AI exposure are seven times more likely to require skills associated with senior levels, such as leadership and creativity. The number of positions available for these entry-level roles has risen by 35% since 2019, while other junior jobs have fallen by 10%. "The paradox AI creates is that it asks junior employees to think strategically from day one, even as it takes away the very tasks through which they traditionally learned the trade," Voicilă said.

The report highlights a widening divergence between companies with high and low AI exposure. Companies in sectors with the greatest AI exposure recorded average productivity growth of 34% in 2025 compared with 2018, against 24% for those with the lowest capacity to use AI. The top 20% of companies with the greatest AI exposure achieved average labour productivity growth of 163% over 2018 – nearly five times the average for high-exposure companies. Employee growth in these firms also outpaced low-exposure companies, at 52% versus 36% in 2025.

Salaries for employees with AI skills have continued to rise, averaging 62% higher than for employees without such skills. Sectors such as technology, media and telecommunications (11%) and professional services (6%) recorded the largest share in rising demand for AI-specific skills, while healthcare was at the opposite end (below 1%). The barometer analysed over one billion job listings across 27 territories, combining labour market data, company financial statements and occupation-specific tasks.