The workforce is experiencing dramatic changes as agentic AI becomes more common in workplaces worldwide.

Productivity surges in AI-heavy industries represent one major trend. According to PwC’s global study, sectors like banking and software development using AI tools saw 27% productivity growth from 2018-2024 - nearly four times their pre-AI performance. This translates to real benefits for workers, with salaries in these fields now offering 56% higher wages compared to less tech-focused industries. PwC’s leaders credit this to workers ‘teaming’ with AI to handle complex tasks faster.

However, entry-level opportunities are shrinking dramatically. Revelio Labs found a 19% drop in job postings for roles involving tasks chatbots can perform, like writing basic emails or analyzing simple data. Major companies like Shopify and Duolingo now require managers to justify human hires over AI solutions. This creates a ‘missing first rung’ problem - young workers can’t get the starter jobs that traditionally taught career skills.

Leadership warnings about societal impacts grew louder this week. Palantir CEO Alex Karp noted that while AI could help workers, unchecked development might cause ‘deep upheavals’. His comments came as education giant Chegg cut 248 jobs while shifting to AI tutoring tools. Other firms like Autodesk are restructuring departments to focus on machine learning teams.

Surprisingly, even easily automated roles show job growth. PwC found positions like bank tellers and administrative assistants increased 3-5% annually as workers use AI to handle routine tasks while focusing on customer service. This suggests AI isn’t just replacing workers - it’s changing what jobs look like.

The key lesson? Workers using AI collaborators appear safest. As Nvidia’s CEO observed, ‘People won’t lose jobs to AI - they’ll lose them to someone using AI’. Companies like PwC now actively train employees to work with agentic AI systems, betting this human-machine teamwork drives future success.