Employers Raise the Bar for AI Skills
AI skills expectations show 41% of hiring managers seek advanced skills, while 93% of job seekers say they are AI-ready.
Express Employment Professionals reports a gap between how prepared job seekers feel for AI-enabled work and what hiring managers expect. Its surveys found that 93% of job seekers believe they have the AI skills employers want, while 41% of hiring managers expect advanced or expert AI capability. Nine in 10 hiring managers look for at least basic AI skills, and 54% consider AI proficiency very important or absolutely essential when assessing applicants. The findings point to AI proficiency becoming part of the hiring conversation across a range of roles.
AI Skills Join Core Criteria
Job seekers still believe employers place the greatest weight on established workplace qualities. Dependability and work ethic each ranked first at 47% among attributes viewed as absolutely essential, followed by communication skills at 45%.
Technical skills ranked at 29%, up from 25% in fall 2024, while AI skills ranked at 19%. Dependability was down from 52% in fall 2023, while work ethic was down from 48% in fall 2024. Communication skills were unchanged from fall 2024.
What AI Ready Means
Hiring managers identified several capabilities beyond basic use of AI tools. Forty-five percent cited awareness of data privacy and security concerns, and the same share identified the ability to communicate AI findings or concepts clearly and effectively. Understanding bias and fairness in AI was selected by 37% of hiring managers.
Bob Funk Jr., CEO, president and chairman of Express Employment International, said:
“AI proficiency is moving from a nice-to-have to a foundational skill for many jobs. Job seekers who invest in their own development now can gain practical experience and a better understanding of how to use the technology responsibly. Knowing how AI works is only part of the equation. Employees also need to know how to question its output, communicate what it produces and apply it effectively on the job.”
Confidence Varies by Age
More than half of millennial job seekers, 55%, described their AI skills as advanced or expert, along with 50% of Gen Z respondents. That compared with 31% of Gen X job seekers and 12% of baby boomers and seniors.
Men were also more likely than women to expect employers to seek advanced or expert AI proficiency, 42% compared with 28%. Among Gen Z and millennials, 43% believed companies expect advanced or expert skills, compared with 25% of Gen X and 10% of baby boomers and seniors.
Survey Details
The research draws on separate online U.S. surveys conducted by The Harris Poll for Express Employment Professionals. The job seeker survey included 1,000 adults ages 18 and older who were employed and looking for a new job, or unemployed and looking for work. It was conducted from May 19 to June 8, 2026.
The hiring decision-maker survey included 1,006 U.S. respondents and was conducted from May 13 to June 1, 2026. More workforce research from the America Employed series is available through ExpressPros.com/Newsroom.
