AI hiring intensity doesn't track the size of a country's AI industry. Stanford's 2026 AI Index, drawing on Lightcast's job-postings database across dozens of countries, found the 2025 leader for AI-skill job-posting share by a wide margin was Singapore, at 4.69% of all job postings — nearly double the 2.6% share in the United States
The 2026 AI Index from Stanford University, using data from Lightcast's job posting database, tracks demand for AI-related talent. In 2025, Singapore had the highest share of job postings requiring AI skills at 4.69%, compared to 2.6% in the United States. This analysis covers dozens of countries and examines how labor markets reflect the adoption of AI.
Verified 2026-09-08
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Demand for AI skills is not simply highest where the biggest AI companies are based.
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- Stanford's 2026 AI Index, citing Lightcast's job-postings database, found that even as employer demand shifted toward newer agentic-AI skills, mentions of generative AI skills specifically in US AI job postings still grew, from 2024 to 2025, by 111%
- The information sector — telecom, media, tech services — led US corporate AI hiring in 2025. Lightcast data cited in Stanford's 2026 AI Index found AI skills required in 13.2% of the sector's job postings, up from 7.8% in 2024
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics built a new four-tier AI exposure classification for every US occupation, combining AI-capability measures with real-world Claude and Copilot usage data mapped onto job tasks. Summing 2025 base-year employment across its 831 rated occupations, BLS's own data shows 53.2 million US workers, 31% of total employment, hold jobs rated 'Very high' AI exposure
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