AI might threaten jobs unless you're a specialist

• Some employers are prioritizing workers with specialized skills over generalists.
• Demand remains high for workers with expertise in areas like IT and data engineering.
• AI's rise could reduce demand, at least for now, for workers without deep specializations.

Jack of all trades, employed by none.

Well, it's not quite that bad, but having work experience that shows you've gone deep in a certain area could make the difference in finding — and keeping — a job.

That's because, as some employers have become slower to hire, there's still a robust demand for workers with specific expertise, according to several labor market experts.

Ger Doyle, head of Experis, a division of ManpowerGroup that focuses on tech staffing and services, said he's seeing employers clamoring for workers with more targeted abilities over those who might be generalists.

"Where we still see demand strong is in specializations," he told Business Insider.

Doyle said workers with solid experience in areas like IT and data engineering, sales and marketing, operations and logistics, and manufacturing and production are often still in high demand from employers.

Knowing what many employers are looking for is always important, of course. Yet now that the labor market is a couple of years past its Oprah phase — You get a job! You get a job! — it's important to look for ways to become or remain employable.

Mike DePrisco, president and CEO of the Institute of Management Accountants, a professional association, told BI that many employers face a "dire need" for workers with skills in areas like data science and IT.

He added that bosses are looking to bring on people with analytical chops and who can understand finance and accounting principles.

"These are the skills that they're telling us they're hiring for," he said.

It's no surprise that some areas in high demand are those involving artificial intelligence. Many organizations are pouring big money into the technology, betting it will remake how most businesses operate.

Doyle, from Experis, said part of the reason there could be less appetite for workers whose skills are more broad-based is because bosses could assume those might be the first to be replaced by an AI bot.

Many companies are asking, "Will AI solve a lot of those more generic-type roles?" he said.

Doyle said that could dent demand for entry-level gigs, which often include a fair bit of grunt work. Employers might eventually need more of those workers as it becomes clearer how AI might rewrite job descriptions, but for now, some bosses appear to be in wait-and-see mode.

The 'great waiting game'

Employers' caution is evident, to some degree, in the number of open roles for each person without a job. A couple of years ago, the ratio hovered around 2 open roles for every unemployed person. Now, that's about 1.2, Doyle said. That's still a "very robust" job market, he noted, but it's cooler.

"Moderation and then stabilization has been very evident for the last 12 months," Doyle said. He also pointed to a "significant decline" in the number of job postings in June and July.

The latest evidence of a job market tapping the brakes came Wednesday when the government reported that US employers added fewer jobs in the past 12 months than data originally showed.

Doyle described some of what's playing out in the labor market as a "great waiting game." More workers are lingering in their jobs, and some employers are forgoing positions that aren't deemed critical, he said.

"Postings are down. There's more competition for roles, and with that, people are not leaving their jobs at the pace that we'd have seen in the past," Doyle said.

That, in turn, has reduced pressure on bosses to bump up workers' pay. He noted that inflation on salary increases has dropped to about where it stood before the pandemic.

Tough times for Gen Z

Doyle said some employers' preference for specialization among their workers might also be reflected in a drop in demand for fresh college grads. Even with a degree in a field, employers might want people whose specialization includes several years of experience.

That's making it rough for some young workers.

"Gen Z are enduring a very tough job market right now," he said.

Doyle cited data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which projected in April that overall hiring for new college grads would be down 5.8% in 2024 from the prior year.

And even when workers have specialization in an area where demand remains strong, like accounting, that doesn't mean they can forget about so-called soft skills like communication, DePrisco, from the Institute of Management Accountants, said.

He said many employers he talks to are willing to train the right workers on more technical aspects of a role. That could benefit employers, of course, but also the workers by boosting their job security.

But to make employers more willing to bet on them, workers need to show curiosity, innovation, and a willingness to collaborate and solve problems, DePrisco said.

"They're investing in those individuals who have certain capabilities, certain characteristics that make them a good fit for the organization," he said.

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