Explosive Growth in AI Job Creation

Ireland is generating AI jobs at two to three times the pace of peer countries, according to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) reporting in 2026. This exceptional growth is reflected across multiple employment metrics released by PwC’s 2026 AI Jobs Barometer.

AI-user roles in Ireland increased by 83.6% in 2025, while AI-developer roles grew 73.3% over the same period. In absolute terms, AI-user roles added roughly 12,200 positions during 2025, compared with about 1,100 additional AI-developer roles. Since 2019, jobs requiring specific AI skills have grown 83% faster than the overall Irish jobs market, which expanded 16% over the same period.

Rising Skills Requirements Across the Economy

The share of Irish job postings requiring AI-related skills reached 3.7% in 2025, up from about 2.3% in 2024. This rising demand reflects a broader reskilling imperative: Ibec estimates that 64% of roles in Ireland will require significant reskilling because of AI.

The most AI-exposed quartile of Irish occupations averaged 181 new skills per occupation between 2019 and 2025, compared with 55 in the bottom quartile. PwC measured average net skill change at 4.45 for the top AI-exposure quartile of Irish occupations, compared with 1.15 for the bottom quartile, between 2019 and 2025.

Wage Premiums Signal Strong Demand

Companies are paying substantially more for AI expertise. PwC found an AI-related wage premium of 84% in Irish technology, media and telecommunications in 2025, and 87% in Irish financial services. Within financial services specifically, 98.8% of AI-related roles were classified as AI-user roles rather than developer roles.

Worker Adoption and Concerns

According to Microsoft Ireland’s September 2026 Work Trend Index, 63% of Irish workers use AI tools at work, and 47.4% use them daily, according to a September 2026 study from Trinity College Dublin and the Centre for Sociology of Humans and Machines.

Yet concerns about career disruption are mounting. 47% of Irish workers say AI is making them reconsider their career path. At the same time, 65% of Irish workers believe AI skills are essential to compete in the jobs market, and 61% believe developing AI skills will support career progression. 75% of Irish workers believe people with broad skills will become more valuable in the future.

Training and Support Gaps Remain

Despite high adoption and skill concerns, employer support lags. Only 40% of Irish workers say they have received enough AI training or guidance from their employer, and only 44% say their employer provides the AI tools and resources they need, per Microsoft Ireland’s September 2026 Work Trend Index.

Displacement Risks on the Horizon

Not all employment trends are positive. ESRI modelling published in 2026 estimates that around 7% of current Irish jobs could be displaced in the short to medium term under its central scenario. Engineers Ireland has highlighted an estimate of approximately 110,000 Irish jobs potentially vulnerable to AI automation in the short to medium term, with clerical roles and high-tech occupations identified as among those most exposed to AI automation risk.

Source: CPSU