New world of work Huge demand for AI jobs - university degree losing importance
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the Swiss job market. According to the "AI Jobs Barometer 2025" by PwC Switzerland, the number of AI-related job advertisements has risen from 2000 in 2018 to 20,000 in 2024 - a tenfold increase.
04.06.2025, 08:18
04.06.2025, 13:32
SDA
The development shows the increasing relevance of AI technologies in various industries and their impact on the labor market, according to the PwC study published on Wednesday. However, the share of the overall market is still low at 1.4 percent.
Strong growth in new sectors
The strong growth in sectors that are not traditionally associated with AI is particularly striking. In agriculture, for example, the demand for AI expertise increased more than ninefold compared to 2019. In commodities trading, growth has even increased almost twenty-fold.
This makes it clear that AI is not only changing large industries such as information technology and the financial sector, according to the report. It is also playing an increasingly important role in more traditional and less digitalized areas.
New demands on the workforce
AI is also changing the demands on the workforce. Practical AI experience is increasingly in demand, while a university degree is less and less in demand. According to the study, the proportion of job advertisements requiring a university degree fell from 43% in 2019 to 38% in 2024.
AI skills are particularly in demand in the manufacturing industry, where almost 15 percent of job advertisements require AI skills. This is followed by freelance, scientific and technical jobs at just under 10 percent.
In the information and communication sectors, on the other hand, there has been a decline in the proportion of AI-related job advertisements. According to the study, this indicates a slower pace of automation in these sectors.
