Hong Kong experienced a marked rebound in demand for artificial intelligence skills in 2025, with AI-related job postings rising 50% year-on-year, according to PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer.
The surge raised AI roles’ share of total vacancies from 3.6% in 2024 to 4.7% in 2025, signalling renewed hiring momentum even as levels remain below the 2023 peak.
Broad-based sector growth
PwC analysed more than one billion job advertisements worldwide to compile the barometer. In Hong Kong every sector recorded an increased proportion of AI roles last year.
Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) firms continued to lead listings, reflecting their entrenched digital strategies, while Professional Services posted the largest sectoral rise — a 2.1 percentage point increase — underscoring consultancy and advisory firms’ push to embed AI in client workstreams.
Shift from experimentation to execution
The data indicate a shift in local corporate strategy: companies are moving beyond experimentation and investing in AI roles that apply and integrate these capabilities across the business.
Encapsulating the trend, Michael Cheng, Workforce Lead Partner at PwC Hong Kong, said: “The re-emergence of AI roles signals that Hong Kong businesses are transitioning from experimentation to execution."
True competitive advantage lies in utilising AI to elevate employee capabilities, spark rapid innovation, and unlock unprecedented business value.” Michael Cheng
User roles outpace developer hires
A notable structural feature of Hong Kong’s AI labour market is the dominance of AI user roles. These positions — which apply AI tools to business processes — doubled in 2025, adding around 6,900 new jobs.
By contrast, AI developer roles expanded only modestly, increasing by 87 positions (1.3%). This pattern suggests local employers are prioritising application and integration of existing AI technologies rather than building foundational models in-house.
Sector differences in skill composition
While AI user roles account for more than 80% of AI-related jobs in Professional Services and TMT, sectors such as Government, Utilities and Health recorded much higher proportions of developer roles — roughly 61%, 63% and 65% respectively.
These differences reflect varying strategic needs: public and critical-infrastructure organisations often require bespoke technical capability to ensure secure, regulated implementations.
Governance and workforce transformation
PwC’s barometer also highlights the rapid acceleration of AI-augmented skill demand globally, with roles requiring judgement, creativity and leadership growing eight times faster than the general market.
Wilson Chow, PwC’s global TMT industry leader and China AI leader, urged firms to pair hiring with robust governance: “As Hong Kong undergoes AI transformation, it is essential for companies to establish transparent accountability and strong governance in the use of AI technologies to sustain long-term competitiveness."
He argues that a clear definition of responsibility for AI systems and proactive risk management are key components of effective AI governance.
As employers accelerate talent programmes, the challenge for Hong Kong will be converting interest into durable capability: training employees to use AI responsibly, embedding governance, and aligning roles to the strategic priorities that will define competitive advantage in the next phase of digital adoption.
