AI-related job postings surge despite IT seeing fewer overall
AI-related job postings surge despite IT seeing fewer overall

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AI jobs posting have surged even as postings for IT jobs, in general, have slipped, according to research released Feb. 3 by the University of Maryland and LinkUp.
It found that AI job postings in the US have surged 68% to 49,577 in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 29,509 in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the study.
Meanwhile, IT job postings saw a 27% drop to 258,706 in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 354,070 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The researchers define AI jobs as those requiring AI skills, while IT jobs comprise a broad group of computer- and math-related occupations.
Total US job postings have also fallen 17% during the same period.
“While this decline does not suggest that companies are employing fewer people, it does suggest that companies are hiring new staff at a slower pace,” researcher Anil Gupta wrote. Gupta co-led the research; he is the Michael Dingman chair and professor of strategy, globalization and entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Smith School.
The researchers noted that AI job postings’ continued rise amid this downturn signals “clear evidence of a strong ChatGPT effect.”
AI jobs intensity — the share of AI job postings relative to all job postings — varies significantly by sector. The three leading industries for AI adoption are:
- Information: 3.24%
- Professional, scientific and technical services: 2.40%
- Finance and insurance: 1.54%
On the other hand, the AI jobs intensity for the US economy as a whole is 0.72%.
“The reason is very clear, in these three sectors, all work is knowledge work, and thus amenable to augmentation or substitution by AI,” Gupta said.
At the other extreme, healthcare and social assistance and accommodation and food services, which together account for 28% of all job postings, make up only 1.5% of AI job postings. Their AI jobs intensity is 0.05% or lower, as these fields rely on complex physical work that AI and robotics have yet to replicate.