• Over 1-in-10 skills mentioned in UK job postings is an elementary technical skill, and 8% of postings mention basic computer literacy. 
  • Human skills are also in demand, with communication the single most frequently listed skill in postings. 
  • AI skills are a small but growing share of the labour market. 
  • Logistic support, accounting, and administrative assistance are the job sectors most likely to require basic digital skills.

For all the talk around the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the labour market, when it comes to the technical skills most in demand by employers, basic computer literacy is the main focus. Across the four countries analysed, as well as most occupations, a substantial share of job postings list elementary digital skills among the requirements, and the frequency with which they’re mentioned is a reminder that not all workers possess these skills. 

Lacking basic digital skills is not only a disadvantage in the workplace, it’s also a barrier to gaining employment in the first place. If people don’t have the basic digital skills to search for a job online, then they are shut out of a large part of today’s labour market. Yet a large portion of the population lacks these skills, underlining the need for policymakers to tackle digital illiteracy. While AI may eventually necessitate broad upskilling across the workforce to embrace advanced technologies, there remains a more pressing concern around closing basic digital skills gaps and allowing everyone to fully engage with work in the digital age. 

As a proxy for basic computer skills, Hiring Lab analysed job postings mentioning generic “computer skills,” “computer literacy,” and the ubiquitous “Microsoft Office,” and its constituent programs (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint). The share of job postings containing at least one of these competencies hasn’t changed too much over the past five years in the four countries analysed: the US, Canada, the UK, and France (the share dipped during the pandemic but then recovered). 

Line chart: Many job postings require basic digital skills — Shows the share of job postings requiring basic tech skills from 2019 to 2024 in the US, Canada, France, and the UK. The shares have remained fairly stable over the period. 
Line chart: Many job postings require basic digital skills — Shows the share of job postings requiring basic tech skills from 2019 to 2024 in the US, Canada, France, and the UK. The shares have remained fairly stable over the period. 

Employers want a mix of human skills and basic technical competencies

Looking at the most commonly listed skills in UK job postings, many of them are soft skills including communication, leadership, and organisation. Communication skills are mentioned in 30% of postings. 

But elementary technical skills are also widely listed. Generic IT skills, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Excel all appear in the top ten skills listed in postings. As a share of all technical and non-technical skills listed in UK job postings, basic digital skills comprise just over one-in-ten.

Table: Communication is the most widely cited skill — Shows the most commonly mentioned skills in UK job postings in the year to 1 July 2024. Communication was the top skill with almost one-third of postings mentioning it. 
Table: Communication is the most widely cited skill — Shows the most commonly mentioned skills in UK job postings in the year to 1 July 2024. Communication was the top skill with almost one-third of postings mentioning it. 

Basic digital skills are important in a range of occupations 

Many job categories require some level of basic computer skills, though their prevalence in postings varies quite widely across sectors. Office-based categories, unsurprisingly, have the highest share of postings noting these basic skills, led by logistic support, accounting, administrative assistance and IT operations & helpdesk. 

Table: Logistic support and accounting jobs most likely to list basic digital skills — Shows the share of UK job postings by occupation mentioning basic computer skills in the year to 1 July 2024. Logistic support had the highest share at 34%. 
Table: Logistic support and accounting jobs most likely to list basic digital skills — Shows the share of UK job postings by occupation mentioning basic computer skills in the year to 1 July 2024. Logistic support had the highest share at 34%. 

In-person occupations like childcare, veterinary, driving, cleaning, beauty & wellness, personal care, and food service unsurprisingly have the lowest shares of postings listing basic digital skills. 

Table: In-person jobs least likely to list basic digital skills — Shows the share of UK job postings by occupation mentioning basic computer skills in the year to 1 July 2024. Childcare had the lowest share at 0%. 
Table: In-person jobs least likely to list basic digital skills — Shows the share of UK job postings by occupation mentioning basic computer skills in the year to 1 July 2024. Childcare had the lowest share at 0%. 

Sector-specific software is becoming more important

Though general computer literacy is a common employer demand, there are specific technical and digital skills that are becoming increasingly prominent within certain job categories. The information design & documentation category has seen the biggest increase in the share of job postings listing at least one tech skill, led by Power BI and Python. 

Accounting software is increasingly in demand in accountancy jobs, while Yardi (property management software) is on the rise in real estate. CAD (computer-aided design) is increasingly mentioned in dental and architecture, while HR software like ATS (applicant tracking systems) and other people management tools are becoming more prevalent in human resources jobs. 

Table: Industry-specific tech skills are growing in importance — Shows the categories with the biggest increases and decreases in tech skill shares from Q2 2024 compared with the same period in 2019. Information design & documentation saw the biggest increase. 
Table: Industry-specific tech skills are growing in importance — Shows the categories with the biggest increases and decreases in tech skill shares from Q2 2024 compared with the same period in 2019. Information design & documentation saw the biggest increase. 

The immediate impact of AI remains modest 

For all the hype around AI, the share of job postings containing AI-related terms remains modest, at around 2-3% in the countries analysed. Broad AI technologies (distinct from newer generative AI technology) have been around for a while, and the share of postings mentioning AI terms today is broadly on par with where it was at the start of 2020. The share had been increasing up to 2022, but then a sharp slowdown in the global tech sector (a major employer for AI jobs) dragged it down again. Over the past year, the AI share has started to rise again. 

Line chart: AI postings recovering — Shows AI jobs as a share of overall job postings from 2019 to 2024. The AI jobs share has been recovering in recent months. 
Line chart: AI postings recovering — Shows AI jobs as a share of overall job postings from 2019 to 2024. The AI jobs share has been recovering in recent months. 

Looking specifically at jobs related to Generative AI (GenAI), these postings remain a small but fast-growing share of all postings. The GenAI share began to grow rapidly shortly after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, but these jobs remain rare at only around 0.2% of postings. But if the sharp upward trajectory is maintained, GenAI jobs will start to represent a significant part of the labour market before long. 

Line chart: GenAI postings taking off, but are still rare — Shows GenAI jobs as a share of overall job postings from 2019 to 2024. The GenAI share has been rising rapidly, though is still small overall. 
Line chart: GenAI postings taking off, but are still rare — Shows GenAI jobs as a share of overall job postings from 2019 to 2024. The GenAI share has been rising rapidly, though is still small overall. 

Tech and engineering job postings tend to list several advanced technical skills 

Taking a broader definition of technical skills, including more advanced skills in categories including Databases, IT & Software Development, Network & Server Technology, Operating Systems, Programming Languages & Frameworks, and Software Programs, tech and engineering categories tend to list several such skills in a typical posting. 

Software development postings in the UK typically list almost seven tech skills, while those in IT operations & helpdesk list five, and mathematics postings list three. These figures haven’t changed greatly over the past five years. 

Line chart: Software Development postings list the most tech skills — Shows the average number of tech skills in UK job postings, by occupation. Software development jobs list the highest number of tech skills (almost seven on average). 
Line chart: Software Development postings list the most tech skills — Shows the average number of tech skills in UK job postings, by occupation. Software development jobs list the highest number of tech skills (almost seven on average). 

Highly technical occupations have seen the biggest hiring slowdown 

Hiring demand has slowed sharply over the past couple of years for the most technical occupations, (based on the average number of skills per posting). In the UK, postings in the high-tech tier, which includes occupations with more than one tech skill on average per posting (including software development, architecture, industrial engineering, and media & communications), have dropped 28% below their pre-pandemic baseline. By contrast, the low- and mid-tech tiers (including occupations with postings that typically include 0.5 or less or 0.5-1 tech skills, respectively) are 1% above the baseline and 5% below it, respectively. 

Line chart: Postings are weakest in highly technical sectors — Shows the trend in UK job postings by technification tier from 2019 to 2024. High-tech jobs have seen the biggest slowdown over the past two years. 
Line chart: Postings are weakest in highly technical sectors — Shows the trend in UK job postings by technification tier from 2019 to 2024. High-tech jobs have seen the biggest slowdown over the past two years. 

Conclusion

While AI and other advanced technologies are likely to shape the future labour market, the current reality is that many employers are simply seeking workers possessing basic computer skills. While policymakers are highly focused on the AI impact, they would do well not to forget that there are still many people who don’t have elementary digital skills, shutting them off from opportunities, and limiting talent pools available to employers.