AI Doesn't Scare India's Job Seekers!

Among fresher job seekers, one in three believes AI will create more jobs.

For those worried about losing their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), here's something to cheer about.

A survey by the country's largest job site, Naukri.com, shows that only one in three job seekers (33 per cent) across age groups fear job losses due to AI, so the majority do not.

Among fresher job seekers, one in three believes AI will create more jobs.

In contrast, experienced professionals expect a balance -- jobs created will likely match those lost.

The survey is based on responses from over 60,000 job seekers across eight cities and more than 20 industries.

It also incorporates an opinion poll of recruiters and data from thousands of job postings on the Naukri platform.

India's more optimistic view of AI contrasts with that of the US, where Gallup research shows that a majority (75 per cent) of professionals believe AI could reduce job opportunities in the next decade.

But there are areas of concern.

As many as 40 per cent of senior job seekers in the Rs 15 lakh-plus salary band say they've felt a loss of creativity due to AI.

This is more pronounced in creative industries such as advertising and marketing, animation and VFX, film and music, and emerging tech.

Also, 38 per cent of those earning Rs 1 crore or more fear further job losses by 2030.

The Naukri.com survey busts several myths around AI's impact.

For instance, only 13 per cent of recruiters believe AI will lead to job losses -- a view that lines up with what job seekers think, particularly younger, entry-level candidates.

However, job roles are shifting. Between April and June this year, job postings for machine learning (ML) engineers doubled compared to the same period last year.

Postings for search engineers rose 62 per cent, data scientists 30 per cent, and cybersecurity experts 28 per cent.

On the other hand, roles in mobile app development, system administration, front-end development, and white-box testing have seen sharp declines.

The belief that AI/ML job growth is hype isn't supported by data.

Naukri.com listed 35,000 AI/ML jobs between April and June this year -- 38 per cent more than last year -- while non-AI/ML job postings grew only 8 per cent.

Of these, 1,500 AI/ML roles came from Tier-II cities like Indore, Coimbatore, and Kochi, among others.

AI skills also push up salaries considerably.

Based on Naukri.com job data from April to June this year, the median salary for professionals with AI skills was 53 per cent higher than for those without.

Beyond information technology, hot sectors for AI jobs include accounting, knowledge process outsourcing, and banking.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff