A New World of Work: Global Labor Market Rotates, Not Retreats
- Job Seekers Outpace Job Openings at Highest Level Since the Pandemic
- LinkedIn Finds Over 1.3M New AI-Enabled Jobs Globally Are Fueling the “New Collar” Era of Work
As the global labor market cools, it’s rotating toward a new era of work. Since 2022, businesses have grappled with pandemic spillover, interest rate hikes, and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, professionals continue to struggle to find work, with hiring hanging roughly 20% below pre-pandemic levels and job transitions falling to a decade low. LinkedIn’s new Labor Market Report: Building a Future of Work That Works reveals a labor market showing signs of growth, fueled by the more than 1.3 million new jobs globally that have emerged due to new technology and broader workforce shifts. These roles are giving rise to the new-collar era, an emerging workforce that blends knowledge work, advanced technical skills, and distinctly human strengths.
These fast-emerging roles are rising in demand. From AI integrators and data center technicians, to other jobs that didn’t exist five years ago, these roles are now powering digital economies. Last year alone, there were over 600,000 new, AI-enabled data center jobs created globally on LinkedIn. These new-collar roles are poised to open broader pathways to economic opportunity. By 2030, 60% of new jobs will come from occupations that do not typically require a degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of these roles will pay well and undergo the new‑collar transformation reshaping the labor market today.
Despite this, business leaders’ confidence is down by double digits in advanced economies. The ongoing sluggish labor market is setting up a labor market dynamic characterized by a restless, underutilized global workforce as just over half (52%) of people say they’re job hunting in 2026, and nearly 80% feel unprepared to find a new job.
This has professionals—particularly those early in their careers—turning more to entrepreneurship and other forms of self-employment. LinkedIn members adding “founder” to their profiles grew by 60% year over year globally, and “creator” grew nearly 90% between 2021 and summer 2025. These trends look to increase with nearly 4 in 10 Gen Z professionals expressing interest in working for themselves in the near future.
The message for leaders is clear: despite macro volatility, the business opportunities are vast from AI and changes in skills, to the emergence of new jobs. LinkedIn’s new report points to a number of trends, shaping the labor market in 2026.
- Sluggish Hiring Is Not AI’s Fault
Despite headlines, AI isn’t the culprit behind slow hiring. In fact, hiring trends look similar for roles with both the most and least exposure to AI as well as entry-level and experienced Software Engineers. LinkedIn data shows that economic uncertainty and monetary policy shifts are the primary drivers. Overall, advanced economies are struggling the most, with hiring down 20%–35% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Emerging markets like India (+40%) and the UAE (+37%) are showing ongoing strength. While AI’s impact on work may shift in the years to come, business leaders should take advantage of strong available talent with job seekers outpacing job openings at the highest level since the pandemic. This is also a moment for leaders to rethink their talent strategies by leveraging AI-driven tools to speed hiring and build a pipeline for critical emerging roles.
- Skills Are Shifting by Leaps and Bounds
In the U.S., jobs requiring AI literacy skills grew 70% year-over-year, as digital and data literacy have become the baseline across a variety of technical and non-technical job functions. Globally, 75% of companies agree that people skills are even more important in the age of AI, with employers now seeking employees who possess a blend of uniquely human capabilities like adaptability, problem-solving, and critical thinking. This blend of AI skills (both AI engineering skills and AI literacy skills) and distinctly human capabilities is what will give companies an advantage. It will be up to business leaders to embed upskilling into talent strategies, leveraging tools and programs that create pathways for employees to thrive in an AI-driven economy.
- Jobs in the “New-Collar” Era Have Arrived
Over the past two years, 1.3 million new AI-enabled jobs have emerged globally: AI Engineers, Forward-Deployed Engineers, and Data Annotators. AI Engineer remains the #1 U.S. role for the second year running, while the growth of Head of AI roles signals a shift toward in-house strategic leadership. In fact, we’ve seen double-digit increases in companies with Head of AI positions across Australia (32%), Canada (31%), India (30%), Germany (30%), the UK (30%), and the U.S. (28%)—as well as other major economies over the last year. These roles demand hybrid skills, technical fluency, plus ongoing adaptability as they’re forming the backbone of the new economy.
This transformation is also changing the types of jobs professionals want. LinkedIn research found increasing interest from workers, across all industries, in careers in the trades over corporate jobs, in the U.S. (62%), the UK (55%), France (52%), and Germany (46%). This trend is reinforced with nearly 6 in 10 Gen Zers in France (65%), U.S. (60%), Germany (57%), and the UK (55%) saying technical trades offer more meaning than an office job. These shifts look to progress as AI continues to transform the labor market.
"We’re at an inflection point where technological change is driving talent strategy. AI is not the source of a slow hiring market, but it is changing where opportunities and jobs are forming. Leaders who embed skills development and adaptability into their organizations are better positioned for future change and new growth opportunities. As leaders, we need to build a workforce that is ready for what’s next,” said Dan Shapero, LinkedIn’s Chief Operating Officer.
“For years, most of the global labor market has been stuck in a low gear with very little momentum. Now we’re seeing AI emerge as a catalyst for new roles, upskilling, and productivity,” said Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist. “This creates an opportunity for business leaders to play the long game now by embracing change, building resilience, and investing in the most important skills to unlock growth.”
Helping Shape a New World of Work
On LinkedIn, we’re seeing firsthand how these trends are starting to transform work for professionals and companies. For professionals, upskilling and a strong professional network are no longer optional—they are foundational to staying competitive in a rotating labor market. Employees at organizations with LinkedIn Learning are developing AI skills 3.4x faster year over year than those without the tool. And job applicants are 3.6x more likely to get hired if they are connected to an employee on LinkedIn.
For companies, incorporating updated talent strategies alongside clear skilling pathways is essential to help employees succeed in the new-collar era. During a time of mounting applications and limited open roles, companies leveraging AI-driven tools are helping cut time to hire by 30%, which allows them to find qualified talent faster. And data from LinkedIn’s Career Hub shows that AI talent pipelines grew 8.2x when organizations looked inward and prioritized skills over degrees or job titles. LinkedIn gives job seekers and hirers what they need to navigate a labor market that keeps shifting: AI tools that deliver results, real-time insights, and a network they trust.
Methodology
Linkedin Hiring Rate: The LinkedIn Hiring Rate is the percentage of LinkedIn members who added a new employer to their profile (in the same month the new job began), divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in the country.The global LinkedIn Hiring Rate is the median LinkedIn Hiring Rate across the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, India, Singapore, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
LinkedIn Applicants per Job Opening: The global median ratio of unique applicants to job openings relative to July 2019 across the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, India, Singapore, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
New AI-Related Jobs: A count of job postings on LinkedIn from 2023 to 2025 for jobs containing the titles or words such as Data Annotator, AI Forensic Analyst, Head of AI, AI Engineer, and Forward-Deployed Engineer/Product Manager.
Data Center Jobs: A global count of net data center roles added on LinkedIn over the past 12 months containing titles or words such as Data Center Technician, DataTechnician, Operations Technician, Data Center Operations Specialist, Facilities Technician, Data Center Engineer, Data, Specialists, System Engineer, Software Engineer, and Network Engineer.
Founder Activity on LinkedIn: We use the three-month average count of unique companies on LinkedIn, based on the number of LinkedIn members who added a new founder position to their profile. We only include LinkedIn members who added a founder position to their profile in the same month the new job began. By only analyzing the timeliest data, we can make accurate month-to-month comparisons and account for any potential lags in members updating their profiles. This number is then indexed to the count in January 2016, which is itself set to 100; for example, an index of 105 indicates that company formation is 5% higher than in January 2016.
Head of AI Roles LinkedIn: Head of AI role members are identified based on job titles containing the keywords “AI,” ““Artificial Intelligence,” or “Machine Learning” coupled with the keywords “Head,” or LinkedIn’s standardized seniority levels “Director,” “VP,” “CXO.” Growth in this metric was computed for November 2025, as compared to the same period in the previous year.
AI Skills: The number of AI skills explicitly added by full-time employees in the current year (July 2024 to June 2025) is compared to the previous year (July 2023 to June 2024) to highlight growth in AI skills. AI skills refer to AI engineering skills used to build AI tools and AI literacy skills used to leverage AI tools
LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise: LinkedIn Economic Graph researchers examined millions of jobs started by LinkedIn members from January 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025 to calculate a growth rate for each job title. To be ranked, a job title needed to see positive growth across our membership base and sufficient job postings in the past year, as well as have grown to a meaningful size by 2025. Identical job titles across different seniority levels were grouped and ranked together. Internships, volunteer positions, interim roles and student roles were excluded, and jobs where hiring was dominated by a small handful of companies in each country were also excluded. Additional data points for each of the job titles are based on LinkedIn profiles of members holding the title and/or open jobs for that title in the country.
LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index: An online survey sent to members via email every day and aggregated every two weeks. ~5,000 LinkedIn members respond to each two-week wave of the survey in 12 countries (the U.S., India, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan). Students, stay-at-home partners, and retirees are excluded from analysis so that we’re able to get an accurate representation of those currently active in the workforce. Data is weighted by engagement level to ensure fair representation of various activity levels on the platform.
LinkedIn Sentiment Research, September 2025: Fieldwork commissioned by LinkedIn and conducted online between September 3–11, 2025, among the general public and businesses. The survey included n=1,000 nationally representative consumers (by age, gender, and state/territory) and n=1,000 business decision-makers. Quotas were set at sample design and post-stratification weights applied to correct minor imbalances. The SME sample (businesses employing 200 people or less) reflects the national SME universe by company size-band, sector, and region. Research followed ESOMAR and Market Research Society professional standards.
LinkedIn Trade Worker Sentiment Research, November 2025: Survey conducted by Censuswide interviewing 8,013 professionals in full-time or part-time employment, aged 18+ with a minimum of 1,000 blue collar workers & 500 Gen Z across the following countries; the UK, France, Germany and the US. Censuswide are members of the Market Research Society and British Polling Council and are signatories of the Global Data Quality Pledge.
Consumer and Global HR Professionals Research: This research was conducted by Censuswide in November 2025 among 19,113 respondents who work full time/part time or who are unemployed but are currently looking for a role (aged 18–79)* between November 13 and November 28, 2025, and among 6,554 global HR professionals between November 10 and November 27, 2025. Markets included the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Sweden, the Netherlands, India, Singapore, Australia, and MENA (Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society, which is based on the ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is a member of the British Polling Council.