(TNND) — Artificial intelligence made a mark on LinkedIn’s “Jobs on the Rise” annual report, with AI engineers and AI consultants topping the list that also includes AI researchers at No. 12.
LinkedIn published the list of the 25 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S., based on job updates from its users.
Andrew Seaman, the editor-at-large for Jobs & Career Development at LinkedIn News, said they feel this list is reflective of real-world trends.
“We want to make sure this is as applicable as possible,” he said.
So, they focus on hiring, not unfilled job postings, and they weed out internships, volunteer positions, interim roles and student jobs.
LinkedIn first published its “Jobs on the Rise” report in 2021, Seaman said.
He said job seekers are frustrated.
There are around 2.5 applicants per open job on LinkedIn, up from 1.5 applicants per open job in 2022.
Labor economist Aaron Sojourner previously said the labor market remains strong but is trending weaker.
The unemployment rate ticked up as of the last report to 4.2% after two straight months of 4.1%, though Sojourner said that change isn’t a big deal.
Until last May, the unemployment rate was riding a sub-4% streak of two straight years.
The Labor Department said there are now 7.1 million unemployed people, up from 6.3 million a year ago.
And there are more long-term unemployed Americans. The Labor Department considers those out of work for 27 weeks or longer as long-term unemployed.
Those folks now make up over 23% of all unemployed people, up from under 20% a year ago.
A new jobs report from the government will be released Friday. That one will have data for December.
Sojourner did express concern over the relatively low hiring rate.
It’s been harder for folks out of work to land a job, with the hiring rate generally the lowest that it has been in over a decade.
“As long as they’re willing to be a little bit open minded and creative with where they’re going, then they could probably find something now,” Seaman said Tuesday. “But if you’re sort of dead set and like, ‘I want to stay in this area,’ things hopefully will get better later on this year.”
Seaman said this year’s “Jobs on the Rise” list clearly shows how AI is transforming the workplace.
“I think in the beginning a lot of companies were sort of throwing AI at the wall and just hoping something stuck,” he said. “And I think there are companies that are figuring it out and realizing, hey, this can actually work.”
The AI market, investments in that industry, grew by $50 billion since 2023, he said.
The ascension of AI engineers and AI consultants, now the top two spots on the “Jobs on the Rise” list, fit with companies’ needs for implementing this emerging technology, Seaman said.
AI expert Anton Dahbura said companies are embracing AI as they’re learning about it.
“I think that there’s a FOMO (fear of missing out) element as well that’s been created,” said Dahbura, the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy.
Dahbura called AI “a software breakthrough” that can be applied to any number of business applications, including customer-service chatbots, document summarizers and marketing campaigns.
“Of course, things that need to be reviewed by humans ultimately,” he said. “We can’t discount that.”
Just like other technologies, companies will need folks to work under the hood of AI.
“We don’t ever expect AI to dominate the list, though,” Seaman said. “Because AI is just going to become part of everyone’s jobs.”
Seaman said there are some other key trends emerging from this year’s jobs list.
Growth in travel advisor (No. 5) and event coordinator (No. 6) jobs are spurred by a post-pandemic surge in travel and entertainment for both business and pleasure, according to LinkedIn.
Frontline and in-person service jobs are reemerging, with LinkedIn noting the inclusions of security guard (No. 10) and research librarian (No. 20) on the list.
Health care roles continue to show strong growth.
There’s also a sustained rise in roles focused on strategic growth and revenue generation, including chief growth officer (No. 17), chief revenue officer (No. 23), and director of development (No. 7).
“And what I often tell people is to think about this list holistically,” Seaman said. “So yes, you see that AI engineers, AI consultants are on there. You see these engineers, like bridge engineers and stuff like that on there. But it shows sort of like hot spots in the job market, too. So, if there’s a bunch of travel agents being hired, if there’s a bunch of security guards being hired, that we see those companies that are doing that hiring likely need accountants. They likely need HR people.”
See details on each job, including the most common skills, top hiring regions, remote and hybrid availability and more on the LinkedIn report.
