As leaders try to better understand trends affecting the international job market, I traveled to Davos this year to sit down with Mark Lobosco, LinkedIn’s chief business officer, and hear his perspective on what is happening across the platform.
For those convinced that the global job market is shrinking, LinkedIn’s newest Labor Market Report tells a much more nuanced—and more hopeful—story.
Yes, hiring remains roughly 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Job transitions are at a decade low. With more than half of workers planning to job hunt in 2026 and nearly 80% saying they feel unprepared to do so, anxiety is high.
But beneath that surface of the slowdown, something else is happening: the labor market may not be retreating as much as it’s rotating.
“When you look at headlines and reports, there is more underneath,” said Mr. Lobosco. “There are pockets of growth we continually see. We are trying to be grounded in the data, and at present, we are seeing AI as a net job creator.”
LinkedIn Workforce Report
Courtesy: LinkedIn
According to a report, more than 1.3 million new AI-related jobs have emerged globally over the past two years. These roles are powering what LinkedIn calls the “new-collar” era—work that blends technical fluency, digital literacy and distinctly human skills like adaptability and critical thinking.
“For the most part, these are roles that didn’t exist three years ago. They are ‘New Collar’ jobs that fit into the category of a combination of both technical and human skills, and even vocational skills. For example, everything from how to build a backbone of AI infrastructure, all the way to how to deploy AI successfully within a company. It’s less about the disappearance of work, and more about the redesign of it.”
A Market That’s Rotating, Not Collapsing
Since 2022, businesses have been facing pandemic-related adjustments, rising interest rates, and the introduction of global tariffs, all of which have contributed to economic uncertainty. But this slowdown is not uniform. Emerging markets like India (+40%) and the UAE (+37%) continue to grow, suggesting that opportunity has not vanished—it has shifted to new markets.
While job seekers now outnumber job openings at the highest level since the pandemic, 52% of workers say they plan to job hunt in 2026, but nearly 80% don’t feel ready to do it, which is creating a restless and underutilized workforce – and an opportunity to reskill and close the gap between ambition and preparedness of this moment.
The Rise Of The New-Collar Worker
With the creation of 1.3 million new AI-related jobs internationally and domestically in just two years, over 600,000 AI-enabled data center jobs were created. This includes AI integrators, data annotators, forward-deployed engineers, and data center technicians – roles that barely existed five years ago.
By 2030, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 60% of new jobs will come from occupations that do not typically require a four-year degree. Many of these roles will be part of this new-collar shift—jobs that reward skills, not pedigree, and adaptability over static credentials.
AI Engineer is now the #1 job in the U.S. for the second year running. Meanwhile, the growth of “Head of AI” roles shows that companies are no longer outsourcing strategy—they’re bringing AI leadership in-house. Over the past year, companies adding Head of AI roles grew by double digits across Australia, Canada, India, Germany, the UK and the U.S.
LinkedIn Chief Business Officer
Courtesy: Linkedin In
These ‘new collar’ jobs demand hybrid capability: technical fluency paired with human judgment – backbone of the next economy.
Skills Are Shifting—Fast
In the U.S., jobs that require AI literacy grew 70% year over year. But this doesn’t mean everyone needs to become an engineer. AI literacy means understanding how to work alongside intelligent systems—how to question them, guide them, and apply them responsibly.
At the same time, 75% of companies globally stress that employees’ people skills hold even more importance in the age of AI. Specifically, adaptability, problem-solving, and critical thinking are now core business assets.
The advantage will go to workers—and companies—who blend technical fluency with human judgment.
Yet many organizations are still treating upskilling as optional, which may be a mistake. LinkedIn’s data shows that AI talent pipelines grew more than eightfold when companies looked inward and prioritized skill building and nurturing over simply focusing on job titles.
From Employees To Entrepreneurs
As more traditional hiring slows, many professionals—especially younger ones—are turning elsewhere. Globally, LinkedIn members who added “founder” to their profiles grew by 60% year over year. “Creator” grew nearly 90% between 2021 and mid-2025. Nearly four in ten Gen Z professionals say they want to work for themselves in the near future. In many countries, a majority of professionals now say they would prefer creating their own career over a corporate one, and Gen Z increasingly sees technical trades as more meaningful than office jobs.
SAN FRANCISCO – MAY 07: Job listings are posted on a bulletin board in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Getty Images
What Leaders Must Do Now
When asked what leaders must do now, Mr. Lobosco was clear: “This is a moment, despite uncertainty, to be taking action.”
“It’s not about waiting for things to stabilize, because I think the reality is for one reason or another, we’re going to continue to be operating in an evolving labor market, an evolving economy, and with that – an evolving set of skills that are going to be required.”
And that action often needs to begin with the C-Suite.
“I’ve found big disconnects between executives talking about AI and actually using it themselves. We are at a point where they may use AI to ask a question and then go back and copy and paste something, but I think every executive needs to move to a place where they are actually building and using these tools themselves and gaining expertise. CEOs cast a long shadow, and if you think about it like modeling, this is a great way.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2026/01/23/at-davos-linkedins-latest-workforce-report-shows-rise-in-new-collar-jobs-at-over-13-million/
