2026年人工智能时代劳动力市场技能研究报告

OECDArtificialIntelligencePapers

SkillsintheAIage

No.60

OECDArtificialIntelligencePapers

SkillsintheAIage

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SKILLSINTHEAIAGE©OECD2026

Disclaimers

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Abstract

Asgeneral-purposetechnologieslikethesteamengineandelectricityoncerevolutionisedsociety,artificialintelligence(AI)islikewisedoingsotoday.Byenhancingproductivity,stimulatingeconomicgrowthandcreatingnewjobopportunities,AIcouldsignificantlyenhancehumanworkandthelabourmarket.However,AIalsopresentschallengessuchasjobdisplacementsifthetransitiontousingitisnotproperlymanaged.TheeffectsofAIonemploymentdifferacrosssectors,regionsandcities,aswellasacrossskilllevels.Adaptingtothisshiftrequiresdevelopingnewskillsthatalignwithevolvinglabourmarketdemands.PolicymakersplayanessentialroleinensuringworkersareequippedtothriveinanAI-driveneconomy.ThispaperexamineshowAIistransforminglabourmarkets,shiftingskillrequirementsandthepolicyresponsesneededtoharnessAI’stransformativepotentialwhilemitigatingitssocialandeconomicrisks.

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Acknowledgements

Theongoingdigitaltransformationoftheeconomyandsocietyholdsmanypromisestospurinnovation,generateefficienciesandimproveservices,andindoingsoboostgrowth.Digitaltechnologiesempowerpeoplebyincreasingaccesstoinformationandenablingnewformsofsocialengagement.Yetsuchbenefitscomewithotherchallengesasdigitaltransformationchangesthenatureandstructureoforganisations,marketsandcommunities,andraisesconcernsaboutequityandinclusion.Realisingtheopportunitiesandaddressingthechallengesisnotautomaticandmayrequirepolicyactiontomakedigitaltransformationboostgrowthandimprovewell-being.

TheOECD-KoreaDigitalSocietyInitiative(DSI),undertheauspicesoftheOECDDigitalPolicyCommittee(DPC)andsupportedbyKorea,aimstohelpadvancetheDPC’sworkonthesocietalaspectsofdigitaltransformation,includingitsimplicationsforhumanrights,byintegratingrelevantexpertisefromacrosstheDPCanditsdatainfrastructures.TheDSIprovidesinsightsintotheimpactsofdigitaltransformationanddigitaltechnologydevelopmentonsociety,andavenueforcountriestodiscuss,exchangeandexplorepolicycasestudiesonrelatedissues.TheDSIfocusesonthreepriorityareas:digitalinclusionanddivides;safety;andtrust.Thesethemeswerechosenaskeyareastoadvanceindividualandsocietalwell-beingintoday’shighlydigitalsocieties.

ThispaperrepresentsanoutputoftheDSI.ItcontributestoabetterunderstandingofkeytrendsinthedigitaltransformationofsocietiesacrossOECDMembercountriesandpartnereconomiesanditidentifiesinnovativepolicypracticestomaximisetheopportunitiesofdigitaltechnologiesforpeopleandsocietyandtominimisetherelatedrisks.

ThispaperwaswrittenbyElifKöksal-OudotundertheguidanceofMollyLesherandthedirectionofAudreyPlonkandJerrySheehan.StatisticalexpertisefromGiorgiaBergamoandBénédicteRispalisgratefullyacknowledged.ThepaperbenefitedfromfeedbackfromStijnBroecke,AndrewPaterson,GlendaQuintini,AngelicaSalviDelPeroandLeaSamek.MarkFoss,AndreiaFurtadoandAliceWeberprovidededitorialandcommunicationsupport.

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Tableofcontents

Disclaimers2

Abstract3

Acknowledgements4

Reader’sguide7

Acronyms7

Abbreviations8

Executivesummary9

Mainfindings9

1Introduction11

2AIhasatransformativeimpactonbusinesses,workanddigitalsocieties12

Firm-levelAIadoptionhaswidespreadimplicationsforsociety12

AIistransformingjobsandlabourmarkets14

JobswithgreatestexposuretoAIarenotnecessarilythosewithahighriskofautomation14

3Individualsneedawiderangeofskillstothriveindigitalsocieties18

Amixoffoundational,ICTandcomplementaryskillsareneededtothriveindigitalenvironments18

AIskillsareinhighdemand,butworkerswithAIskillsarestillasmallpartoftheoverall

workforce19

Bridgingskillsgapsisanimportantsocietalimperative20

4TheroleofpoliciestoshapeskillsfortheAIage22

Investinginthequality,equityandlabourmarketrelevanceofeducationandtrainingsystems22

TrainingICTprofessionalsthroughbothformaleducationandlifelonglearning23

Encouragingemployer-ledtraining24

PromotingAIliteracy26

Providingtailoredsupportfordisplacedworkers27

Ensuringtherightmixofskillsforall28

5Conclusion29

References30

Notes34

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FIGURES

Figure1.AdoptionofAItechnologiesinbusinesseshasbeenincreasing13

Figure2.High-skill,whitecollaroccupationsareamongthosewiththehighestexposuretoAI15

Figure3.TheoccupationsmostatriskofautomationaredifferentthanthosemostexposedtoAI16

Figure4.EconomiesarecompetingforAItalent19

Figure5.Insomecountries,almostathirdofjobvacanciesarehighlyexposedtoAI20

BOXES

Box1.Korea’s“ArtificialIntelligence&Digital(AID)30+”project24

Box2.Germany’sfundingofcontinuingvocationaltrainingandtraining(CVET)foremployees25

Box3.Estonia’snational“AILeap”initiative27

Box4.Canada’s“AI4GoodLab”programme28

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Reader’sguide

Acronyms

AI

Artificialintelligence

AID

ArtificialIntelligenceandDigital(Korea)

AZAV

AccreditationandApprovalOrdinanceforEmploymentPromotion(Germany)

CPF

IndividualLearningAccount(France)

CPIA

ProvincialCentresforAdultEducation(Italy)

CVET

Continuingvocationaleducationandtraining(Germany)

EU

EuropeanUnion

ICT

Informationandcommunicationtechnologies

ISCO

Internationalstandardclassificationofoccupations

SMEs

Smallandmedium-sizedenterprises

GenAI

Generativeartificialintelligence

MOOCs

Massiveopenonlinecourses

OECD

OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

PIAAC

ProgrammefortheInternationalAssessmentofAdultCompetencies(OECD)

PISA

ProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment(OECD)

VET

Vocationaleducationandtraining

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Abbreviations

ThisreportusesISOcodesforcountriesandeconomiesinfigures.

ARG

Argentina

AUS

Australia

AUT

Austria

BEL

Belgium

BGR

Bulgaria

BRA

Brazil

CAN

Canada

CHE

Switzerland

CHL

Chile

CRI

CostaRica

CZE

Czechia

DEU

Germany

DNK

Denmark

ESP

Spain

EST

Estonia

FIN

Finland

FRA

France

GBR

UnitedKingdom

GRC

Greece

HKG

HongKong(China)

HRV

Croatia

HUN

Hungary

IDN

Indonesia

IND

India

IRL

Ireland

ISL

Iceland

ISR

Israel

ITA

Italy

JPN

Japan

KOR

Korea

LTU

Lithuania

LUX

Luxembourg

LVA

Latvia

MEX

Mexico

NLD

Netherlands

NOR

Norway

NZL

NewZealand

POL

Poland

PRT

Portugal

ROU

Romania

SAU

SaudiArabia

SGP

Singapore

SVK

SlovakRepublic

SVN

Slovenia

SWE

Sweden

TUR

RepublicofTürkiye

URY

Uruguay

USA

UnitedStates

ZAF

SouthAfrica

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Executivesummary

Artificialintelligence(AI)isemergingasatransformativegeneral-purposetechnology,reshapingeconomiesandsocietiesinwayscomparabletopastindustrialrevolutions.Byenhancingproductivity,improvingdecisionmakingandenablinginnovation,AIholdssignificantpotentialtoboosteconomicgrowthandimproveworkingconditions.Atthesametime,itsdiffusionraisesconcernsaboutlabourmarketdisruptions,wideninginequalitiesandunevenaccesstoopportunities.Inthiscontext,ensuringthatindividualsandeconomiesareequippedwiththerightskillsiscriticaltoharnessAI’sbenefitswhilemanagingitsrisks.

AIadoptionbyfirmshasacceleratedrapidlyinrecentyears,driveninpartbytheemergenceofgenerativeAItools.BusinessesincreasinglyuseAItechnologiestoautomateroutinetasks,optimiseresourceallocationandimprovethequalityofgoodsandservices.Thesedevelopmentscanraiseproductivityandcreatemoreengagingandhigher-valueworkforemployees.However,adoptionremainsunevenacrossfirms,sectorsandcountries.Largerfirmsandyounger,moreinnovativeenterprisestendtoleadinAIuptake,whilesmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesfacebarriersrelatedtocost,infrastructureandskillsshortages.Withouttargetedpolicyinterventions,thesedisparitiesriskreinforcingexistingproductivitygapsandlimitingthediffusionofAIbenefitsacrosstheeconomy.

ThispaperfirstshedslightonthetransformativeimpactsofAIonbusinesses,workanddigitalsocieties.ItthenoutlinestheskillsneededtoprosperintheAIage.Finally,itdiscussestheroleofpoliciestohelpensurethatworkershavetherightmixofskillstodayandinthefuture.

Mainfindings

AIadoptionisaccelerating,withdifferencesacrossfirms

•AIuptakeisrisingrapidly,increasingfromaround7%to20%offirmsbetween2021and2025inOECDcountries,driveninpartbythediffusionofgenerativeAItools.

•Largerfirmsandstart-upsaremorelikelytoadoptAIduetogreaterfinancialresourcesandinnovationcapacity,respectively.

•Smallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)facepersistentbarrierstoAIuptake,includingcosts,lackofinfrastructureandshortagesofskilledworkers.

•SkillsshortagesareakeyconstraintonAIdiffusion,rankedamongthetopbarrierstoadoptionbyfirms.

AIistransformingjobs,butnotnecessarilydestroyingthem

•AIaffectslabourmarketsthroughthreemainchannels:i)automationofexistingtasks,ii)creationofnewtasksandoccupationsandiii)improvingproductivity.Theseeffectscoexist,andthenetimpactonemploymentdependsontheirrelativebalance.

•EvidencesuggestsAIoftencomplementsratherthansubstituteshumanlabour,contributingtoproductivitygainsandjobcreation.

•However,jobdisplacementremainsarisk,particularlyforworkersinroutineandrepetitiveroles.

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SKILLSINTHEAIAGE©OECD2026

ExposuretoAIdiffersfromriskofautomation

•High-skilloccupationsarethemostexposedtoAI,includingmanagers,professionalsandengineers.However,theseoccupationsarelesslikelytobeautomated,astheyrelyonnon-routinecognitiveandsocialskills.

•Incontrast,low-andmiddle-skilljobsfacehigherautomationrisks,particularlyinsectorsinvolvingroutinemanualorcognitivetasks.

•In2022-2024,aroundone-quarterofworkerswerealreadyexposedtogenerativeAI,andthisshareisexpectedtogrowsignificantly.

Individualsneedawiderangeofskillstothriveindigitalsocieties

•Foundationalskills(literacy,numeracy,scientificknowledge)enableallpeopletoparticipateinadigitaleconomyandsociety.

•Informationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICT)skills(basictoadvancedtechnicalcompetencies)helpworkersmeetevolvingjobrequirementsandthriveinthedigitalage.AdvancedAIskills(e.g.machinelearning,datascience)areinhighdemand,butworkerswithsuchskillsremainrare(around1%oftheworkforce).

•Complementaryskillssuchascriticalthinking,creativity,andcollaborationenablehigh-performanceworkpracticesandastrongabilitytocontinuelearning.TheybecomeincreasinglyimportantastheyenableeffectiveinteractionwithAIsystemsandadaptationtochangingtasks.

GovernmentscanhelpshapeskillsfortheAIage

TomakethemostofbenefitsfromAItechnologieswhilemitigatingtherisks,governmentsmustputintoactionagilepoliciesthatworkintandemasfollows:

•Strengtheneducationandtrainingsystemsbyimprovingquality,equityandlabourmarketrelevanceofeducationandintegratingAIliteracy,digitalskillsandcriticalthinkingacrosscurricula;

•Expandlifelonglearningopportunitiesbypromotingcontinuousupskillingandreskillingacrossthelifecoursebydevelopingflexible,modularandonlinetrainingpathwaysandstrengtheningrecognitionofpriorlearningsystems;

•DeveloptheICTandAItalentpipelinebyexpandingformaleducationprogrammesinAIanddigitalfields,providingshort,targetedreskillingprogrammesforadultsandaligningtrainingprovisionwithevolvinglabourmarketneeds;

•PromoteAIliteracyforallbyequippingworkerswithbasicskillstouse,understandandcriticallyassessAIandbroadeningaccesstoAIlearningbeyondspecialists;

•Encourageemployer-ledtrainingbysupportingfirmsthroughfinancialincentives,subsidiesandco-financingschemes,fosteringpartnershipsbetweenemployersandeducationprovidersandaligningworkplacetrainingwithtechnologicalchange;and

•Strengthenpolicyco-ordinationandpartnershipsbyfosteringcollaborationbetweengovernments,industryandeducationsystemsandusinglabourmarketdataandskillsforecastingtoguidepolicy.

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1Introduction

Artificialintelligence(AI)

1

isreshapingeconomiesandsocieties,muchliketransformativetechnologiessuchasthesteamengineandelectricitydidinearliergenerations.Asageneral-purposetechnology,AIhasthepotentialtoboostproductivity,driveeconomicgrowth,createnewjobsandenhancetheworkofpeople(Calvino,HaerleandLiu,2025[

1

]).Atthesametime,AIraisestheriskofjobdisplacementandwideningexistingdisparitiesifthetransitiontousingitisnotmanagedeffectively(OECD,2023[

2

]).

TheimpactofAIonjobsvariesacrosssectors,occupationsandskills.SomeworkersbenefitfromAI’sabilitytoautomateroutinetasks(e.g.reducingthetimetoaccomplishtaskswiththesameorevenhigherquality),allowingthemtofocusonhigher-valuetasksthatcannotyetbeautomated.Inothercases,AImayreplacejobsentirely,particularlythoseinvolvingahighdegreeofpredictableandrepetitivetasks.Importantly,thewidespreadavailabilityofgenerativeAI(GenAI)toolsmayconsiderablyalterthewayinwhichworkersundertakedifferenttasks.HavingtheskillstoadapttochangingtasksandjobsisacrucialelementofbeingabletothriveintheworldofworkintheAIage.Withtherightskills,workersstandtobenefitfromemergingjobopportunitiescreatedbyAI,providedtherisksareaddressedintandem.

Insuchaheavilydata-drivenworld,thepaceoftechnologicalchangeisfastandoftendisruptive.Inthiscontext,policymakershavearesponsibilitytohelpequipworkerswiththeskillsneededtothriveintheirjobsandinsocietymorebroadly.ThispaperfirstshedslightonthetransformativeimpactofAIonbusinesses,workanddigitalsocieties.ItthenoutlinestheskillsneededtoprosperintheAIage.Finally,itdiscussestheroleofpoliciestohelpensurethatworkershavetherightmixofskillstodayandinthefuture.

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SKILLSINTHEAIAGE©OECD2026

2AIhasatransformativeimpactonbusinesses,workanddigital

societies

AIadoptionbyfirmscanhelpreducecostsandboostproductivity,supportingincreasedcompetitiveness.However,italsohasfar-reachingsocietalimplicationsforindividualsasconsumersandworkers.

Firm-levelAIadoptionhaswidespreadimplicationsforsociety

AIadoptionbyfirmscantransformtheapproachtooperationalefficiency,decision-makingprocessesandconsumerengagement.AItechnologies,includingmachinelearning,naturallanguageprocessing,computervisionandpredictiveanalytics,enablebusinessestoautomateroutinetasks,optimiseresourceallocationandenhanceproductivity(Brynjolfsson,2017[

3

];CalvinoandFontanelli,2023[

4

];Filippuccietal.,2024[

5

]).Forexample,AI-poweredpredictivemaintenanceistransformingthemanufacturingindustrybyreducingdowntime,loweringmaintenancecostsandenhancingoperationalefficiency(Lalwani,2025[

6

]).

AIcanalsohelpcompaniesimproveproductorservicequality(OECD,2023[2]),enablingworkerstobenefitsimultaneouslythroughimprovedjobqualityandsatisfaction.Indeed,AIcouldreduceoreliminatedangerousortedioustasks,andcreatemorecomplexandinterestingonesinstead.Itcanboostworkerengagement,givingthemgreaterautonomyandevenimprovingtheirmentalhealth.Someworkersmayalsobenefitfromhigherwagesifthereisahigherdemandforspecificskillsonthejobmarket.Additionally,AIhasproventobeinstrumentalinenhancingworkplacewellnessandergonomics(Fiegler-Rudoletal.,2025[

7

]).AItechnologiescanautomatephysicallydemandingandrepetitivetasks,reducingtheriskofburnoutandimprovingemployeewell-being(García-Madurgaetal.,2024[

8

]).

RecentevidencealsoshowsthatGenAItoolscouldsignificantlyenhanceproductivity,bothatindividualandorganisationallevels,withrelevantaggregateimplications(Calvino,ReijerinkandSamek,2025[

9

]).

InOECDMembercountrieswithavailabledata,businesseshavesignificantlyincreasedtheiruptakeofAIinrecentyears.AsmeasuredinICTusagesurveys,useofAIinthesebusinessesgrewfromaround7%to20%between2021and2025

(Figure

1).Thisincreaseislikelydrivenbytheadoptionof“general-purpose”GenAItools,suchasChatGPTandCopilot,whichweremadeavailableasof2022.

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SKILLSINTHEAIAGE©OECD2026

Figure1.AdoptionofAItechnologiesinbusinesseshasbeenincreasing

AdoptionratesofAIbyenterpriseswithtenemployeesormore,inthebusinesssector(excludingfinancialservices),

2025(ormostrecent)

20252021

%

50

40

30

20

10

0

Note:ForBrazil,datareferto2021and2024.ForCanada,JapanandSwitzerland,datareferto2021and2023.ForKorea,datareferto2021and2024withachangeinthequestionnairestructurein2022.

Source:OECD(2026[

10

]),ICTAccessandUsage(dataset),

https://oe.cd/dx/ict-access-usage.

AIuptakeinfirmsdiffersconsiderablybyage,sectorandsize.Youngerfirms,includingstart-ups,haveastrongtendencytouseAI.Indeed,start-upsareoftenattheforefrontofradicalinnovations,especiallyduringtheemergenceofnewtechnologicalparadigmssuchasAI.Asaresult,thepropensityofyoungfirmstoadoptAIoftensurpassesthatofolderfirms(CalvinoandFontanelli,2023[

4

]).

ArecentOECDtaxonomyalsorevealssignificantheterogeneityacrosssectorswithrespecttoAIhumancapital,AIinnovation,andexposuretoanduseofAI(CalvinoandFontanelli,2023[

4

]).Sectorssuchasinformationtechnology(IT)servicesscorehighalongallthedimensionsconsidered.Others,suchaspharmaceuticals,exhibitconsiderablymoreheterogeneity(highAIhumancapitalbutlowAIinnovation).

WithouttargetedandeffectivesupporttodeveloptheskillsneededtoworkwithAI,workersandbusinesseswillnotbeabletoseizeitsbenefits,whiledisparitiesinjobopportunities,jobquality,wagesandproductivitymaywiden.Withrespecttosizebreakdowns,largerfirmswithgreaterfinancialandtechnicalresourcesappearmorelikelytoadoptAI(CalvinoandFontanelli,2023[

4

]).SMEsoftenreportbarriersrelatedtocost,expertiseandinfrastructureamongthereasonsfornotadoptingAItechnologies.LackofskillsisthesecondmostcommonbarriertoadoptionofAIreportedbyfirmsinfinanceandmanufacturing(aftercosts)intheOECDAIsurveysofemployersandworkers(OECD,2023[

2

]).Similarly,halfofSMEsnotusingGenAItoolsreportlackofskillsasabarrier(OECD,2025[

11

]).Othermajordeterrentsincludeconcernsaboutlegalandregulatoryissues(e.g.concernsaboutineffectiveprotectionandenforcementofcopyrightandotherintellectualproperty),dataprivacy,andmanipulatedanddeliberatelymisleadingcontentonline(BianchiniandLasherasSancho,2025[

12

]).

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AIistransformingjobsandlabourmarkets

AIisincreasinglyrecognisedasatransformativeforceinlabourmarkets,drivingsignificantshiftsinjobcreation,skillsdemandandoverallworkforcedynamics.Whileconcernsaboutjobdisplacementpersist,researchsuggeststhatAIalsocreatesnumerousopportunitiesforemploymentgrowthandeconomicresilience.Onestudy,forexample,arguesthatAItechnologiescanleadtonetjobgainsbycomplementinghumanlabourratherthansubstitutingit,therebycreatingnewtasksandindustries(OECD,2023[

2

]).

BuildingonresearchbyLaneandSaint-Martin(2021[

13

])withintheOECD’sArtificialIntelligenceinWork,Innovation,ProductivityandSkills(AI-WIPS)programme,OECD(2023[

2

])identifiesdifferenttypesofimpactsofAIonemployment.Inonescenario,AIaffectslabourdemandbyautomatingcertaintasks,complementinghumansincompletingexistingtasksbutalsocreatingnewones.WhenAIautomatestaskspreviouslydonebyhumans,itmayreplacehumanlabour.Inparallel,AImaycreatenewtasksthatrequirehumanlabour,leadingworkerstoundertakealternativetaskscomparedtopreviousones.Finally,AImaycomplementworkers,uniformlyimprovinghumanproductivityinallassignedtasks.Inthisscenario,AIneitherreplacesworkersinthecomple