The AI job market in 2026

AI Engineer is the most in-demand role, with demand for AI skills reaching 2.5% of US job postings in 2025 (up 55% in a year), while agentic systems and Forward Deployed Engineering are the fastest-growing specialties. Supply is severely lagging demand—the US is projected to have 1.3 million AI jobs by 2027 but only 645,000 qualified people to fill them—creating a 62% wage premium for AI skills within the same occupation. Entry-level hiring has become harder, Prompt Engineer is fading as a job title, and half of all AI postings now sit outside IT departments.