Employers are hiring more specialists to build and manage AI systems, but the bigger test for HR leaders is deciding how to reshape early-career hiring as entry-level tasks change. That's the central finding of DataCamp's State of AI Careers 2026, which shows AI and data job postings climbed 80% over the past year after a quiet 2024 and 2025.
Most of that rebound landed in technical roles. Postings for AI engineers rose 255% year on year, the largest increase among the 25 roles analyzed, while generative AI engineer postings grew 197%. Median base salaries exceeded US$100,000 globally for both. Data science managers topped the salary list at nearly US$190,000.
Demand also grew for data engineers, Python developers, data architects and machine-learning engineers. More established titles - data analysts, data scientists and business intelligence professionals - saw growth below 50%.
The data adds to a wider pattern: AI skills carry a 62% wage premium, according to PwC, and job advertisements requiring AI skills doubled from about 20,000 in 2024 to 41,000 in 2025.
Technical skills aren't the whole picture
DataCamp's review found communication appeared across all 25 career paths, alongside Python, SQL and computer science. AI skills were listed as a core competency in 22 of the 25 roles. Employers, the report said, are increasingly looking for candidates who combine technical know-how with judgment, communication and the ability to connect insights to business decisions.
That mix is harder to build in-house than it is to buy on the open market, which puts workforce planning at the center of the AI for Human Resources conversation. HR teams are being asked to identify which capabilities to hire, which to develop internally and how to keep entry-level pathways open as routine work shifts to AI systems.
"AI is changing what it means to be technical and what roles are in demand, and it's hitting younger workers hard," said Jonathan Cornelissen, co-founder and CEO of DataCamp. "There's no one narrative here, but understanding and preparing for this shift is how we put ourselves in the best place to succeed."
Younger workers are the point of caution
The same report flags a warning: between late 2022 and September 2025, employment among US workers aged 22 to 25 in AI-exposed occupations like customer support and accounting fell 6%, while older workers doing similar jobs saw gains of 6% to 9%. After adjusting for firm-level effects, the relative decline for younger workers reached 16%.
An updated Stanford Digital Economy Lab study, using payroll data through June 2026, puts the gap at 19% below where it would be if hiring had kept pace in less-exposed occupations. The authors stress the research is descriptive, not proof that AI caused the difference. Overall employment remained solid, with no similar pattern among experienced workers.
In Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia found no clear evidence so far that generative AI is shrinking entry-level roles. Displacement has been limited, it said, with most impact playing out as upskilling, redeployment and changes to existing roles.
The risk of cutting junior hiring
Gartner has warned employers not to eliminate early-career roles. Cutting them now could make organizations more reliant on hiring experienced workers externally, rather than growing talent from within - a costlier and slower path in a tight market for AI skills.
The decision structure is not straightforward. Part of the advice for HR teams is to map which junior tasks can be redefined as AI-augmented work - validating outputs, interpreting model results, escalating errors - rather than eliminated. That approach keeps a pipeline intact while adapting to the new mix of technical and judgment-heavy duties.
Why this matters for HR professionals
Workforce planning is likely to become a recurring board-level conversation about AI talent. The growing gap between what employers want and what the early-career pool can supply means HR leaders need both a strategy for identifying technical roles and a clear-eyed view of how much junior talent they're willing to build over time. Those who rely only on external hiring will pay a rising premium for skills that sit at the intersection of technical depth and business judgment. A structured training path for senior HR leaders can make it easier to weigh those trade-offs, as can an AI Learning Path for CHROs that covers workforce planning and AI capability decisions.
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