PwC Analysis Reveals Employers Seek Senior Skills in Entry-Level AI Roles
A new global analysis by PwC indicates that employers are increasingly expecting traditionally senior-level skills from entry-level workers, particularly in roles exposed to artificial intelligence. The 2026 AI jobs barometer, which analyzed over one billion job listings worldwide and 2.4 million entry-level roles in the US, found a significant shift in skill requirements. Skills such as emotional intelligence, leadership, and data-driven decision-making, once reserved for experienced staff, are now sought in junior positions.
A recent analysis by PwC, detailed in its 2026 AI jobs barometer released on June 15th, highlights a growing demand for senior-level skills in entry-level positions, especially within AI-exposed fields. The study encompassed over one billion global job advertisements and 2.4 million entry-level roles in the United States.
According to the findings, employers are now seeking skills traditionally associated with senior staff, including emotional intelligence, judgment, and leadership, from less experienced workers. The analysis of US entry-level roles exposed to AI indicated that these positions are seven times more likely to list such skills compared to 2019. Additional skills now expected include motivational leadership, team building, people and stakeholder management, process management, mentorship, and data-driven decision-making.
PwC defined a "traditionally senior" skill as one that appeared more than 50 times in experienced, non-entry-level, high AI exposure job postings in 2019, but fewer than five times in entry-level, high AI exposure postings during the same period.
This shift is attributed to AI's increasing capability to perform repetitive, data-intensive tasks previously handled by junior white-collar workers. Globally, the report found that entry-level roles highly exposed to AI have seen flatlining hiring rates. In the US job market, however, entry-level AI-exposed roles that were "seniorized" – meaning they added more than 10 traditionally senior skills – grew by 35% between 2019 and 2025. Conversely, comparable AI-exposed entry-level roles that were not seniorized decreased by 10%.
Companies are reportedly overhauling their training and people programs to help young workers adapt to these new demands. PwC US, for instance, introduced a new workplace training initiative in February and has reduced the number of locations for its entry-level consultants from 72 to 13 offices. PwC itself has reduced entry-level hiring by a third over the next three years in the US, as reported by Business Insider in August.
Yolanda Seals-Coffield, chief people and inclusion officer for PwC US, stated in February that the isolation of the COVID-19 years, combined with AI's impact on work, has diminished the sense of connection around learning and development, particularly for younger employees. (Source: Business Insider)
