AI is driving massive layoffs in technology, but it’s increasing $18,000 a year anywhere else, according to research

The technology industry, the original epicenter of AI adoption, sees many of its own workers displaced by the very innovations they have helped create. Employers race to integrate AI into everything from cloud infrastructure to customer support, and trim human personnel in software engineering, IT support and management functions. The rise of AI-powered automation is accelerating layoffs in the high-tech sector, with the same number of affected employees as 80,000 per count. Grooming 15,000 jobs on Microsoft alone While committing $80 billion to new AI investments.

However, labor market intelligence company Lightcast offers a ray of hope for the future. Job openings in non-technical roles that require AI skills will increase their value. Lightcast’s new “Beyond the BuzzBased on an analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, these posts show that they offer a 28% higher salary. This averages nearly $18,000 a year. Lightcast’s research highlights the division of technology and non-technical employment. Although job openings for technical role skills remain strong, the percentage of AI jobs within IT won 61% in 2019 with 61% contracts. Its role as AI claims a constant share of work.

AI demand explodes beyond technology

Rather than suppressing workforce outlook, Lightcast research suggests that AI is diversifying opportunities across the broader economy. More than half of all jobs calling for AI skills in 2024 are radical reversals of the past few years when AI was limited to Silicon Valley and Computer Science Labs. Marketing, HR, finance, education, manufacturing, customer service and other sectors are rapidly integrating AI tools, from generation AI platforms that create marketing content to predictive analytics engines that optimize supply chains and adoption.

In fact, job offers that and mention generative AI skills outside of computer science have skyrocketed by an astounding 800% since 2022, catalyzed by a surge in tools such as ChatGpt. Microsoft co-pilot, and dall-e. Marketing, Design, Education, and HR are some of the fastest growers in AI adoption. It adapts to new toolkits, workflows, and ways of creating value.

Cole Napper, Vice President of Lightcast’s Research, Innovation and Talent Insights, luck In an interview, he noted that art is at the top of the list as it has been hit by the lack of identifiable patterns that have been most affected by the explosion of AI skills present in job postings.

AI skills are in demand

For the workforce as a whole, AI proficiency has emerged as one of the most lucrative skills investments today. Owning two or more AI skills will result in an even higher salary, with an advertising salary of 43% premium.

In 2024, over 66,000 job postings were specifically mentioned in the generation AI as a skill, almost four times higher than the previous year, according to the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Index Report. Large-scale language modeling was the second most common AI skill to appear in 19,500 open job posts. Posts listing chatgpt and quick engineering are ranked 3rd and 4th by frequency, respectively.

Sectors such as customer/client support, sales and manufacturing reported the biggest wage bumps of AI skilled workers as companies automate everyday functions and leverage AI to leverage competitive advantages.

Christina Inge, founder of AI marketing service Thoughtlight, spoke about luck Not only is AI automating busy work, but AI-Fluent workers are becoming a tool that will increase their value to businesses and outperform their peers. For example, use AI to think of someone on sale and create a more targeted conversation to close the deal faster. The same can be said for customer service workers.

“(AI-proficient customer service workers) know how to interpret AI output, write clear prompts, and troubleshoot things when things fall out of script,” Inge says. “The combination of human judgment and AI’s flow is difficult to find and worth the extra salary.”

In fields such as marketing and science, even a single AI skill can bring about great returns, but more technical positions are drawn to experts with advanced machine learning or generative AI expertise.

Importantly, the most valuable AI-enabled role requires more than mere technical magic. Employers are one of the 10 most requested skills in AI-focused posts, along with technical foundations such as communication, leadership, problem solving, research, customer service: machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“While generative AI is excellent at tasks such as writing and coding, unique human capabilities, such as communication, management, innovation and complex problem solving, are even more valuable in the AI age,” the study states.

Winners and losers

The new impact is impressive. With easy-to-automated roles, tech workers face increasing evacuation as long as they can quickly pivot into emerging fields that combine business, technology and people’s skills. Meanwhile, millions of non-tech workers are poised to translate even basic AI literacy into new roles and wage improvements. Competitiveness now lies in organizations and professionals agile enough to combine AI capabilities with human judgment, creativity and business insight.

For businesses, the risks are clear. I am currently responsible for treating AI as an isolated technical specialist. The award-winning companies are embedded throughout AI Fluency Enterprise, building a workforce that is ready for the future by boosting marketing teams, HR divisions and financial analysts.

AI could be a source of disruption in the Silicon Valley boardroom, but its economic dividends are flowing rapidly to workers and businesses across every corner of the economy. For those who can adapt, AI skills are not a precursor to unemployment, but a passport to higher salary and new career possibilities. Still, the study does not show exactly where the higher places come in the income level, so Napper said there could be a compression, saying that high-paid tech employment has been phased out and low-paid positions are slightly better.

Napper said the trend of AI skills becoming employment has exploded over the past few years and doesn’t expect a slowdown anytime soon. Napper said there is a “cost of self-satisfaction.” He added that Lightcast, a 28% premium, is planning to release a follow-up survey on the most revenue levels that trend is the most.

For this story, luck Generated AI was used to assist with initial drafts. The editors checked the accuracy of the information prior to publication.