Artificial intelligence skills have become the hottest commodity in the job market, with LinkedIn reporting that AI-related hiring has surged 30% faster than overall hiring since last fall. This dramatic shift signals a fundamental transformation in what employers are seeking from candidates in 2025 and beyond.
According to Daniel Shapero, COO at LinkedIn, the demand extends beyond technical AI developers to include workers who are comfortable using AI tools in their daily work. This reflects employers’ recognition that the workplace is undergoing an enormous transformation, and they need workers prepared to adapt to these changes.
The scale of this transformation is staggering: LinkedIn projects that by 2030—just five years away—70% of the skills required for most jobs will change, primarily due to AI integration. This represents an unprecedented pace of workplace evolution, especially considering that ChatGPT, the first mainstream AI chatbot, only launched in late 2022.
The data reveals a dramatic shift in job requirements. Job listings on LinkedIn that include AI literacy skills have jumped more than sixfold in the past year. However, only one in every 500 job postings explicitly mentions AI literacy, suggesting that AI fluency is increasingly becoming an unstated expectation rather than a listed requirement.
Shapero notes that AI competency is now showing up in interviews even when not mentioned in job descriptions. One recruiting head told him that their number one interview question asks candidates how they’ve used AI for work or at home within the past year. The goal is to assess comfort level, fluency, and ability to learn new technologies.
Job seekers are responding to these market demands. Since 2022, LinkedIn users have increased the rate at which they add skills to their profiles by 140%, including both technical AI capabilities and soft skills like communication and leadership. This comes during what’s been called the “Big Stay,” when workers feel less mobile than during the pandemic-era “Great Resignation” and are focusing on skill development rather than job-hopping.
Kelly Mendez-Scheib, chief people officer at Crunchbase, confirmed her company is actively hiring for AI-related roles including machine learning engineers and data scientists, stating she’s “pretty bullish on AI.” The ideal candidate, according to experts, combines AI capabilities with traditional human skills like emotional intelligence and communication—creating what Parminder Jassal, CEO of Unmudl, calls a “super intelligence skillset.”
Key Quotes
There’s a feeling from employers that they need to make sure that the workers that they’re hiring are up for the changes that are about to occur in the labor market
Daniel Shapero, COO at LinkedIn, explained why employers are prioritizing AI skills. This quote reveals that companies aren’t just looking for current capabilities—they’re hiring for adaptability in anticipation of massive workplace transformation driven by AI.
It may not be on the job description, but it’s going to be something that shows up somehow in the interview
Shapero described how AI literacy has become an implicit expectation rather than an explicit requirement. This matters because job seekers may be screened out for lacking AI skills even when postings don’t mention them, making AI fluency essential for competitive candidates.
What they’re trying to get at is comfort and fluency and the ability to learn new things and new technologies
Shapero explained what recruiters are assessing when they ask candidates about AI usage. This reveals that employers value adaptability and learning agility as much as current AI expertise, recognizing that AI technology continues to evolve rapidly.
You put that together with AI intelligence, and now you get this super intelligence skillset
Parminder Jassal, CEO of Unmudl, described the ideal combination of human emotional intelligence with AI capabilities. This quote encapsulates the emerging paradigm where the most valuable workers aren’t just AI experts or traditional professionals, but those who can effectively blend both domains.
Our Take
This LinkedIn data confirms what many industry observers have suspected: we’re witnessing the fastest skills transformation in modern workforce history. The 30% hiring acceleration for AI-skilled workers isn’t just a trend—it’s a fundamental restructuring of labor market dynamics.
What’s particularly striking is the implicit nature of AI expectations. When only one in 500 job postings mentions AI literacy despite sixfold growth in such requirements, it signals that AI fluency is becoming as fundamental as computer literacy was in the 1990s. Job seekers who wait for explicit AI requirements in postings are already behind.
The 140% increase in skills being added to LinkedIn profiles suggests workers recognize this urgency, but the question remains whether upskilling is happening fast enough. The five-year timeline to 70% skills transformation is remarkably compressed, potentially creating a significant skills gap that could reshape hiring practices, compensation structures, and career trajectories across industries. Companies and workers who act decisively now will be best positioned for this AI-driven future.
Why This Matters
This hiring surge represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of work, signaling that AI literacy is transitioning from a specialized skill to a fundamental workplace requirement across industries. The 30% faster hiring rate for AI-skilled workers demonstrates that companies are racing to build AI-capable workforces before their competitors.
The projection that 70% of job skills will change by 2030 has profound implications for workers at all career stages. This isn’t just about tech jobs—it’s about nearly every profession being reshaped by AI integration. Workers who fail to develop AI fluency risk being left behind in an increasingly competitive job market.
For businesses, this trend underscores the urgency of workforce transformation. Companies that successfully hire and train AI-literate employees will gain significant competitive advantages in productivity, innovation, and adaptability. The shift also highlights a broader economic transformation where AI adoption becomes a key differentiator between thriving and struggling organizations.
The emphasis on combining AI capabilities with human soft skills suggests that the future workplace won’t be about humans versus machines, but rather humans augmented by AI. This hybrid model requires workers to develop both technical proficiency and uniquely human capabilities like creativity, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/new-job-build-ai-skills-help-change-roles-employers-hiring-2025-1