A new report from PwC suggests artificial intelligence is changing the job market faster than many people expected.
The firm’s 2026 AI Jobs Barometer analysed more than one billion job advertisements across 27 countries and found that AI is reshaping how organisations hire, what skills they value and how work is performed.
While much of the attention around AI focuses on job creation versus job losses, one finding stands out. Entry level jobs exposed to AI increasingly require higher level skills than they did in the past.
That matters because many professional careers traditionally began with routine work. Graduates and trainees learned through research, administration, document reviews, report preparation and supporting more experienced colleagues.
Today, much of that work can be completed far faster with AI.
The Productivity Revolution Is Already Here
Across finance, banking, bookkeeping, accountancy, compliance, fund administration, company secretarial work, consulting and legal services, AI is helping professionals complete tasks in a fraction of the time previously required.
Research that once took days can often be completed in hours. Reports that previously required a week of work may now be drafted in an afternoon. Regulatory monitoring can increasingly take place continuously rather than through manual reviews.
In some areas of professional services, AI is also beginning to change how organisations track tax and legislative developments. Rather than relying solely on periodic CPD presentations, industry updates or email bulletins, AI systems can increasingly monitor regulatory, taxation and legislative changes from multiple jurisdictions in near real time. This allows professionals to identify developments more quickly, assess potential impacts and spend more time on interpretation, risk assessment and client advice rather than information gathering.
This is no longer theoretical.
Professionals around the world are reporting significant productivity gains as AI becomes integrated into everyday workflows. The result is that businesses can often produce more work without increasing headcount at the same rate.
For employers, that is a major opportunity.
For people entering the workforce, it presents a challenge.
Fewer Entry Level Opportunities
The question is not necessarily whether AI replaces entire professions. A more important question may be whether fewer people are needed overall.
If one professional can complete the work previously carried out by two people, businesses naturally require fewer support staff and fewer trainees. This appears to be reflected in hiring trends already becoming visible across parts of the professional services sector.
This trend did not begin with PwC’s latest report. Concerns about declining trainee and graduate recruitment have been emerging for some time, particularly across parts of the professional services sector. While economic conditions, offshoring and changing client demands all play a role, AI is increasingly becoming part of the conversation. The traditional model of recruiting large numbers of graduates to perform routine work before progressing through the ranks may already be starting to change.
Why Finance And Professional Services Are Exposed
Finance and professional services rely heavily on information. Documents must be reviewed, regulations monitored, data analysed, reports written and client queries answered. These are exactly the areas where artificial intelligence is advancing most rapidly.
Around the world, firms are already using AI to assist with bookkeeping, accounting, compliance monitoring, fund administration, company secretarial activities, due diligence, regulatory reviews, report writing and client communications. Importantly, AI is not replacing most experienced professionals. It is making them more productive.
The result is that organisations may be able to manage larger workloads without employing significantly more people. That has obvious implications for future recruitment, particularly at trainee and junior levels where much of the routine work is increasingly being automated or completed more efficiently.
Pressure On Traditional Fee Models
Artificial intelligence may also change how professional services are priced.
For decades, clients have paid for expertise, experience and the time required to complete work. However, if work that once required several days can now be completed in a few hours, clients may increasingly question traditional fee structures.
This does not mean expertise becomes less valuable. Clients still need experienced professionals to provide judgement, oversight and accountability.
Clients are becoming increasingly aware that artificial intelligence is being used throughout professional services. If work that once took several days can now be completed in a matter of hours, some will inevitably question whether traditional fee structures remain appropriate.
For firms, this creates a challenge. The value of professional services has never been based solely on time. It also reflects expertise, judgement, experience, oversight and accountability. However, as AI takes over more research, drafting, analysis and administrative tasks, firms may find themselves under greater pressure to demonstrate exactly where that value lies.
As AI becomes more widely adopted, some firms may face growing pressure to demonstrate why certain services continue to command premium fees.
Competition may become one of the biggest drivers of change. If some firms can combine AI with skilled workers in lower cost jurisdictions and deliver services more efficiently, competitors may feel increasing pressure to follow. What begins as a cost saving initiative in one organisation can quickly become an industry wide shift as businesses seek to protect margins, remain competitive and meet growing client expectations.
This debate is only just beginning.
The Global Labour Market Is Changing
AI is creating new jobs, but many of those jobs can be performed remotely.
Businesses are becoming increasingly comfortable hiring skilled workers from lower cost jurisdictions while combining their expertise with AI tools.
Countries across Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America are investing heavily in digital skills and AI education.
For employers, the attraction is obvious. They gain access to skilled workers at lower cost while benefiting from the productivity improvements AI can provide.
Competition may ultimately become one of the biggest drivers of change. If firms can combine AI with skilled workers in lower cost jurisdictions and deliver the same services more efficiently, competitors may have little choice but to follow. What begins as a cost saving initiative in one organisation can quickly become an industry wide shift as businesses seek to protect margins, remain competitive and meet growing client expectations.
This creates another challenge for higher cost economies that have historically relied on highly paid knowledge workers.
Some of the new opportunities created by AI may not necessarily appear in the same locations where traditional professional jobs are being transformed.
The Bigger Economic Question
The discussion around AI often focuses on individual jobs. The bigger question may be what happens to economies built around high salaries and professional services.
Governments depend heavily on employment taxes, income taxes and consumer spending. If AI allows organisations to operate with smaller teams while also accessing talent from lower cost jurisdictions, what happens to wage growth over the next decade? What happens to tax revenues, housing markets and consumer spending if fewer people are needed to generate the same economic output?
Nobody has definitive answers. New industries will emerge and new opportunities will be created. History shows that technological change often creates jobs that were previously impossible to imagine. However, it would be a mistake to assume that all of those opportunities will appear in the same locations, industries or career paths that have traditionally driven economic growth.
Adapting To The Future
The PwC report is not predicting the end of work. Demand for financial expertise, governance, compliance, risk management and business advice is unlikely to disappear. What is changing is how that work is performed and how many people may be needed to perform it.
The professionals most likely to succeed will be those who understand how to work alongside AI rather than ignore it. Technical knowledge remains important, but skills such as judgement, communication, critical thinking, relationship management and leadership may become even more valuable.
Artificial intelligence is already changing the workplace. The real question is not whether change is coming, but how quickly businesses, workers and governments adapt to it.
Further Reading
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