By Degree(s): Measuring Employer Demand for AI Skills by Educational Requirements

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted widespread interest and discussion about its potential to transform the labor market. For workforce development practitioners, a key issue is how AI is changing the nature of work, mainly through changes in the skills workers need to be competitive for the jobs of today and of the future. In this Workforce Currents, we explore the growth of employer demand for AI skills in online job postings data between 2010 and 2024. Lightcast, a labor analytics firm, provides job postings data that includes several useful features of each posting, such as the skills required to perform the job functions, the education level required, and the occupation title. While other researchers have documented the overall and industry- or occupation-specific growth in AI skill demand, we investigate how AI skill demand has changed for occupations with differing levels of required education. We ask whether the growth in AI skill demand is concentrated in occupations that require a bachelor’s degree or higher, or whether AI skill demand is growing even in occupations that require an associate degree or high school diploma. The answer to these questions can inform workers as they choose training programs and help workforce development practitioners align certificate and associate degree curricula to meet the changing needs of employers.