New Economy Skills 2025

The digital workforce is undergoing rapid transformation, with generative AI accelerating demand for advanced skills like AI. While recent research suggests that programming skills are highly exposed to AI disruption,13 this transformation also reinforces the continued importance of foundational digital competencies. Research conducted by ADP for this report provides new evidence on employment and wage trends for digital skills (Figure 7). To capture demand, ADP analysed US job postings from January 2019 to July 2025 with titles containing keywords (such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, cybersecurity, UX design, data analysis, etc.) linked to four categories: AI/ML, networks and cybersecurity, design and UX, and data and programming. The figure shows that employment growth during this period in roles requiring AI/ML skills expanded by a factor of 13.8, surpassing all other digital skills. Although growth slowed in 2023 because of economic pressures such as rising US interest rates, inflation and changes in research and development (R&D) tax treatment, it rebounded significantly in 2024 and 2025, coinciding with genAI advancements following the release of ChatGPT. Despite strong growth, AI/ML roles remain a relatively small share of the digital workforce, representing just 1.1% of digital employment in July 2025. By contrast, network and cybersecurity roles account for more than half (54.7%) of the total jobs covered in this analysis. Employment growth in data and programming as well as networks and cybersecurity, decelerated consistently between 2021 and 2025. Roles requiring design and UX skills, however, followed a different trajectory. After a slowdown from 2021 to 2024, they saw renewed growth in early 2025, potentially driven by AI integration and enhanced investment in user-focused digital experiences. Wage dynamics mirror these shifts (Figure 8). Median salaries across digital occupations have trended upward since 2019, but AI/ML roles experienced a substantial wage increase beginning in 2023, reversing earlier stagnation. From 2019 to July 2025, median wages for AI/ML rose from $150,000 to $189,800, underscoring the considerable market value attributed to expertise in this area. This analysis underscores the growing importance of digital skills, noting that while jobs and wages for people with AI/ML expertise are growing, foundational digital skills such as programming, networks and cybersecurity, and design and user experience continue to represent critical pillars of technology careers. Employment growth in AI, data and digital skills, 2019–2025 FIGURE 7 Note: 2025 values reflect data from January to July. Source: ADP research. 0.81.2 1.0 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 20251.62.0Compound annual growth factor of employment. Values above 1 indicate employment growth, while values below 1 reflect employment decline. AI/ML Data and programming Design and user experience Networks and cybersecurityGPT-3 public API released ChatGPT releasedGrowing demand and wage premiums in digital skills BOX 2 Employment growth in AI, data and digital skills, 2019–2025 FIGURE 7 New Economy Skills: Building AI, Data and Digital Capabilities for Growth 14