Companies worldwide face a growing shortage of skilled professionals as they race to implement artificial intelligence, research by Bain & Co. has found.

AI-related job postings have jumped by 21% every year since 2019, with compensation growing 11% annually during the same period, according to the research.

However, the number of qualified candidates has failed to keep pace with demand, creating a widening talent gap that is slowing AI adoption for companies, Bain & Co. said.

According to a recent global survey by Workday, AI is increasingly being used in the workplace; the top three uses for the technology are data analysis, fraud detection and security monitoring, and HR and recruiting.

“AI is at the forefront of corporate transformation, but without the right talent, businesses will struggle to move from ambition to implementation,” Sarah Elk, head of AI, insights and solutions for the Americas at Bain & Co., said in a press release.

“Executives see the growing AI talent gap as a major roadblock to innovation, limiting businesses’ ability to scale and compete in an AI-driven world.”

The study found that nearly half of executives, 44%, cite a lack of in-house AI expertise as a key barrier to implementing generative AI, with the talent gap expected to last until at least 2027. However, the impact of the talent gap would vary in severity across global markets, it added.

In the US, Bain projects that AI job demand could surpass 1.3 million jobs over the next two years, while supply is currently on track to fill fewer than 645,000 positions. This implies that up to 700,000 US workers would need to be reskilled, Bain & Co. said.

Germany could see the biggest AI talent gap, with about 70% of AI jobs unfilled by 2027, while the UK could see a talent shortfall of more than 50%.

The issue is more acute in India, home to the world’s biggest population, where the AI sector could surpass 2.3 million job openings by 2027. The country’s AI talent pool is expected to grow to about 1.2 million, which means that more than 1 million workers will have to be reskilled, according to the research.

“Companies navigating this increasingly competitive hiring landscape need to take action now, upskilling existing teams, expanding hiring strategies, and rethinking ways to attract and retain AI talent,” Elk said.