Healthcare

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Healthcare

Regulation and health concerns slow adoption in the short term, but a profound impact is on the horizon

In the Healthcare industry, AI adoption is slower than in others due to concerns around data privacy, health impacts and the availability of data, but the need for AI solutions is acute. Across the Healthcare industry, workers are in short supply, and the risk-controlled adoption of this technology could help plug gaps in care and other areas of the health system.

In this industry report, we examine how the Healthcare industry is adopting AI and how this is affecting jobs and talent.

AI-exposed jobs are jobs that contain many tasks in which AI can be used. Example jobs: financial analysts, data entry workers.¹ We use ‘AI-powered’ as an equivalent term to AI-exposed.

Augmentable jobs are AI-exposed jobs in which AI enhances or supports human judgment and expertise on many tasks. Example jobs: surgeons, judges.²

Automatable jobs are AI-exposed jobs in which AI can carry out many tasks. Example jobs: software coders, customer service workers.

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Healthcare has the highest share of job postings across all industries

The Healthcare industry's share of job postings has risen significantly over the past 12 years, from 13.9% in 2012 to 19.0% in 2024 (Figure 1). Nearly one in every five job advertisements globally is for a role in Healthcare.

The Healthcare industry's share of job postings has risen significantly over the past 12 years, from 13.9% in 2012 to 19.0% in 2024.

Figure 1: The Healthcare industry has seen its share of jobs postings rise steadily between 2012 and 2024

Share of job vacancies in the Healthcare sector over time, 2012 to 2024, selected countries*

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

*Note that some countries only have data from 2018 or 2021 onwards. For consistency purposes, in this metric we only include the six countries that have full postings from 2012 onwards: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

The demand for healthcare workers is high and rising

Regardless of the degree of AI exposure, our research shows that absolute job demand in healthcare has increased by roughly 80% since 2019.

Factors driving this demand include an ageing population, workforce shortages fuelled by high attrition, as well as more workers reaching or nearing retirement age¹.

Healthcare’s demand for workers may only intensify as a result. In OECD countries, health and social care systems now employ more workers than at any other time in history². And a global shortfall of 11 million healthcare workers has been predicted by 2030—driven by increasingly stressful work conditions and comparatively low pay³.

AI, and technology more broadly, presents an opportunity to close this gap while increasing job attractiveness and supporting better health outcomes for patients.

^[1] OECD,^{Health at a glance}^{, 7 November 2023}
^{[2] OECD,}^{Health at a glance}^{, 7 November 2023}
^{[3] World Health Organization,}^{Health workforce,}²⁰²⁵

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Healthcare’s adoption of AI

In 2024, 0.79% of job postings in the Healthcare industry required AI skills (an increase of 0.4 percentage points since 2012). The highly regulated nature of healthcare means that AI solutions may naturally see slower, more careful adoption⁴.

Figure 2: The proportion of jobs in the Healthcare industry that require AI skills is growing

Share of job vacancies that require AI skills in the Healthcare sector over time, 2012 to 2024, selected countries*

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

*Note that some countries only have data from 2018 or 2021 onwards. For consistency purposes, in this metric we only include the six countries that have full postings data from 2012 onwards: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

^{[4] ‘Collective action in response to artificial intelligence in health,’ OECD Artificial Intelligence Papers (No. 10), January 2024}

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Job demand growth is stronger for augmentable jobs

Despite overall AI adoption in Healthcare remaining slow relative to other industries, both automatable and augmentable roles are seeing job demand growth.

And, in line with every other industry (apart from Financial Services), demand for augmentable jobs is outpacing demand for automatable jobs—growing 54% between 2019 and 2024, versus 41% (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Job numbers are growing for both automatable and augmentable jobs

Average job growth for augmentation and automation, 2019 to 2024, by industry

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Automatable healthcare jobs are already seeing rapid skills change

While job demand growth is slightly higher for augmentable jobs than it is for automatable ones in the Healthcare industry, it is actually automatable jobs that are starting to experience more rapid skill change (Figure 4).

Across most countries analysed, we found that change in the skills employers seek for automatable jobs in the Healthcare industry is notably higher than for augmentable jobs. This aligns with the global trend of faster skills turnover in automatable jobs. In Healthcare, this is particularly pronounced in developed countries such as Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This rapid skill change signals a glimpse of what may come in the Healthcare job market as AI adoption catches up with other industries. Faster skill change in automatable jobs suggests AI may already be enriching such work—making it more complex, creative and solution-oriented. It may also be a sign that healthcare systems are preparing for the AI-driven job changes to come, by starting to hire for AI-ready skills today.

Figure 4: Automatable jobs have experienced higher net skill change than augmentable jobs in the Healthcare industry

Net skill change for jobs more exposed to augmentation and automation in the Healthcare sector between 2019 to 2024, by territory

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

For this analysis we use a subset of developed countries that have good data availability.

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

AI skills attract a wage premium

Our global, cross-industry data indicate that virtually every industry pays a wage premium for workers with AI skills, demonstrating the value of such skills in the jobs market.

Compared with the average cross-industry wage premium of 56%, Healthcare workers with AI skills are attracting a smaller premium of 18%, on average (Figure 5).

Healthcare workers with AI skills are attracting a smaller premium of 18%.

Figure 5: Healthcare workers with AI skills attract a wage premium

Average wage premium for jobs if they are listed with 'AI skills', 2024, by sector

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

The average wage premium is calculated by averaging findings per industry. We do not weight by sample size. Our analysis includes occupations more exposed to AI (not those less exposed to AI).

AI Jobs Barometer | Healthcare

Next steps for business leaders

1. Use AI for enterprise-wide transformation. Many organisations are starting to use AI for isolated use cases. But the real benefit comes when AI is used to transform value creation at an enterprise-wide level, generating new revenue streams and gaining competitive advantage.

2. Treat AI as a growth strategy, not just an efficiency strategy. Companies are using AI not just to control headcount but rather to help workers create more value. Companies who use AI only to reduce staff numbers may miss out on the much bigger opportunities to use AI to claim new markets or generate new revenue streams.

3. Prioritise agentic AI which is an exponential workforce multiplier. With AI agents at their command, workers can achieve much more. Business leaders who adopt agents early won’t just cut costs – they can create organisations that think, adapt, and execute faster than competitors. PwC’s agent OS helps businesses get the greatest value from their agents by enabling them to work as a team – sharing context, operating across platforms, and learning from one another.

4. Enable your workforce to have the skills to make the most of AI’s power. As AI creates huge churn in the skills workers need, build a clear, data-based picture of skills gaps and create a plan for closing them.

5. Unlock AI’s transformative potential by building trust. Our research suggests the growth dividend from AI is not guaranteed and depends on more than just technical success – it also hinges on responsible deployment, clear governance and public and organisational trust.

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