Workers across the world are facing mounting pressure to acquire new skills as artificial intelligence and digital technologies rapidly reshape job markets.
IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, stated this in a blog post, which draws on new IMF analysis of millions of online job vacancies across advanced and emerging economies.
The Fund disclosed that one in 10 job postings in advanced economies and one in 20 in emerging market economies now require at least one new skill, underscoring how employability is increasingly tied to continuous learning and reskilling.
The IMF’s findings are based on an analysis of millions of online job vacancies, revealing that technological change is no longer confined to factory floors or back offices.
According to the IMF, professional, technical, and managerial roles account for the bulk of demand for new skills, with information technology alone responsible for more than half of this requirement.
“For workers, finding or keeping a job will increasingly depend on the ability to update skills or learn new ones.
“Our latest analysis of millions of online vacancies reveals the scale of the demand for new skills: one in 10 job postings in advanced economies and one in 20 in emerging market economies now require at least one new skill,” Georgieva said.
While higher wages for skilled workers can stimulate local economies, the employment effects are uneven.
The IMF’s research shows that high-skill and low-skill workers benefit the most, while middle-skill roles, such as routine office jobs, are increasingly under pressure.
The IMF warns that without proactive policies, AI could widen inequality and deepen labour market anxieties. As job disruption accelerates, workers’ ability to reskill and upskill will increasingly determine their employment prospects.
“With nearly 40% of global jobs exposed to AI-driven change, concerns about job displacement and declining opportunities for some groups are becoming more acute.
“This underscores the need for proactive and comprehensive policymaking that prepares the labor force for the future of work and ensures the gains from AI are broadly shared,” the IMF stated.
To guide policymakers, Georgieva said the IMF has developed a Skill Imbalance Index, which compares future demand for new skills with existing supply.
The IMF had earlier warned that nearly 40% of jobs globally will be influenced by AI, with advanced economies expected to experience a higher impact compared to emerging markets and low-income nations.
It added that more productivity from high-income workers and companies would boost capital returns, widening the wealth gap, while urging governments to provide “comprehensive social safety nets” and retraining programs for vulnerable workers.