Originally published on AI Tech Connect.
The survey that changed the conversation Every year since 2006, ManpowerGroup has asked a large global sample of employers a simple question: are you having difficulty filling roles? The 2026 edition surveyed 39,000 employers across 41 countries between October 1 and 31, 2025. The headline finding: 72% report difficulty filling positions — and for the first time in the survey's history, AI skills outranked every other category as the hardest to source. That is not a marginal change. Engineering skills, IT and data capabilities, and skilled trades have traded the top positions for two decades. AI skills vaulting to number one in a single survey cycle signals a structural reorientation of the global labour market, not a blip. The two hardest-to-fill AI competencies specifically named in the…
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