Government,
Public Services
and Defence

AI Jobs Barometer | Government, Public Services and Defence

Government, Public Services and Defence

Steady in size, dynamic in scope: AI is reshaping the public sector from within

AI is quietly transforming public sector work from the inside out. While the Government, Public services and Defence industry’s share of all job postings has inched up only slightly—from 3.7% in 2012 to 3.8% in 2024, according to our 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer—the nature of those jobs that are exposed to AI is shifting significantly.

In this industry report, we examine how the Government, Public services and Defence 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 | Government, Public Services and Defence

AI usage is expanding in Government, Public Services and Defence

The impact of AI is beginning to show in hiring patterns. Our research shows that in 2024, of all job postings in the industry, 1.75% explicitly required AI skills. This trend has been increasing steadily over the past 12 years (Figure 1).

Some governments are using AI for, for example, fraud detection, cybersecurity, predictive analytics, or automated triage for more efficient delivery of selected services.

The ongoing war in Ukraine has shown how AI can radically reshape defence capabilities. Ukrainian forces have deployed AI-assisted and first-person view (FPV) drone systems to disrupt Russian reconnaissance efforts. This has reportedly reduced Russian drone activity compared to earlier in the conflict¹. These tools not only improve tactical conditions on the ground but also show how AI could help contain long-term defence spending—by automating tasks that once required large-scale, high-cost human co-ordination.

Figure 1: The Government, Public Services and Defence industry saw a steady rise in the proportion of jobs demanding AI skills from 2012 to 2024

Share of job vacancies that require AI skills in the Government, Public Services and Defence 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.

^{[1] Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., ‘Trained on classified battlefield data, AI multiplies effectiveness of Ukraine’s drones: Report,’}^{Breaking Defense}^{, 6 March 2025}

AI Jobs Barometer | Government, Public Services and Defence

AI-related wage premium remains modest compared to other industries

Despite the potential of AI, our global, cross-industry data show that workers with AI skills in the public sector attract lower wage premiums than their counterparts in the private sector. In 2024, Public Admin and Defence roles offered wage premiums of 21%, below those seen in fields such as Information, Communication and Technology, Professional Services or Retail (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The AI boost to wages in the Government, Public Services and Defence industry is lower than in most other industries

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 | Government, Public Services and Defence

Augmentable and automatable jobs are seeing the same levels of modest growth

Between 2019 and 2024, the growth in demand for augmentable jobs and automatable jobs in Public admin and Defence was the same—32% (Figure 3). This is the only sector where demand is even across both types of roles, and overall, it is among the lowest growth of all industries.

Figure 3: Job numbers are growing at the same rate for both automatable and augmentable in Public admin and Defence

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

^{Sources: PwC analysis of Lightcast data}

AI Jobs Barometer | Government, Public Services and Defence

Skills in automatable roles are changing fastest

Automatable jobs in Government, Public Services and Defence are experiencing more rapid skills change than augmentable jobs in virtually every country we analysed (Figure 4). This matches the global trend of faster skills turnover in jobs automated by AI. Our global analysis suggests that automatable jobs are being reshaped to create more value, perhaps by shifting toward more complex or creative tasks.

In the public sector, this can be seen in, for example, job advertisements for data clerks and administrative specialists, which increasingly require familiarity with data tools, workflow automation and information governance.

Our global analysis suggests that automatable jobs are being reshaped to create more value, perhaps by shifting toward more complex or creative tasks.

Figure 4: Automatable jobs have experienced higher net skill change than augmentable jobs in the Government, Public Services and Defence industry

Net skill change for jobs more exposed to augmentation and automation in the Government, Public Services and Defence 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 | Government, Public Services and Defence

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.

Learn more