Demand for AI-related knowledge and skills in Singapore has more than tripled since January 2024, with job ads reflecting a broad spectrum of employer needs — from familiarity with generative AI tools to specialised technical, operational and governance expertise — according to Jobstreet’s new AI Gauge.
The share of job ads mentioning AI-related skills increased from 1.3% in January 2024 to 5.1% in August 2026. While AI-related ads on the Jobstreet by SEEK platform are a relatively small share of overall hiring activity, the sustained upward trend points to the growing importance of AI capabilities in Singapore’s labour market. Singapore has the third highest share of AI job ads across SEEK’s eight Asia Pacific markets¹, behind Hong Kong (6.6%) and Thailand (5.2%).
“The Jobstreet AI Gauge shows how quickly demand for AI skills is changing across Singapore and the region. By analysing job ads over time, we can see which skills employers are seeking and where new opportunities are emerging. This gives us a clearer view of how AI is shaping the labour market across industries and roles,” said Dr Blair Chapman, Chief Economist, SEEK.
Agentic AI emerges as the fastest-growing skill category
Machine learning is the most common AI skill referenced in Singapore job ads. Job ads mentioning machine learning were 93% higher in the three months to August 2026 than in the same period a year earlier — the fastest growth among SEEK markets. Demand for generative AI-related skills also accelerated, with mentions of terms such as text generation, foundation models and GPT rising 92.5% annually over the same period.
Agentic AI-related terms recorded the fastest growth among the AI skills tracked by the Jobstreet AI Gauge, with mentions in job ads increasing by 460% y/y between August 2025 and August 2026. Demand is also growing for the skills needed to deploy AI responsibly, with job ads mentioning AI ethics and governance rose 132% y/y.
Dr Blair Chapman shared, “The rapid rise in demand for agentic AI-related skills is unsurprising. Agentic AI offers substantial productivity gains by enabling AI agents to complete entire tasks that would traditionally require human input. As a result, businesses are seeking people with the skills needed to adopt and maximise the benefits of agentic AI.” He added, “At the same time, the risks associated with AI are becoming more evident as its use expands, increasing demand for professionals who can support the ethical and responsible deployment of these technologies.”
AI skill demand spreads beyond technology roles
Demand for AI skills is growing across Singapore’s labour market, with Information & Communication Technology having the highest share of AI job ads. The share of ICT job ads mentioning AI-related terms rose from an average of 7.2% in the six months to August 2024 to 21.3% in the six months to August 2026.
As organisations adopt AI to improve productivity, demand is rising for professionals who can prepare the workforce, integrate AI into business operations and build the required technical foundations. These roles develop and deploy custom large and small language models, build the databases and infrastructure that support them, and enable the use of external AI models to facilitate wider organisational use of AI.
The Science & Technology industry also had a considerable share of AI-related ads in 2026, including ads for technical roles such as data scientists and research officers. Advertising, Arts & Media is another industry that saw notable growth, with the AI-related share of ads jumping from 2.3% to 10.2%.
This suggests that AI skill demand is spreading beyond core tech roles into adjacent professional and creative fields.
From data science to applied AI engineering
The Jobstreet AI Gauge also points to a maturing AI job market. In 2024, the most common role titles associated with AI-related skills were data scientist, software engineer and software developer. In 2026, AI engineer and automation engineer have joined software engineer among the most common titles.
Newer roles identified in job ads on the Jobstreet platform include full-stack AI engineer, AI solutions engineer, AI and digital transformation executive, data privacy and AI trust officer, AI model trainer and AI video creator. Demand is also emerging across the infrastructure supporting AI, including data centre technician and data centre sales director roles.
Together, these roles display how technological change can create new forms of specialised work across the AI value chain – from infrastructure to model development and governance, and eventually application and market expansion.
“The number of job ads mentioning machine learning in Singapore grew by 93% over the past year, which is the fastest annual growth among the APAC markets where we operate. The increase in demand for talent with machine learning and other AI skills is a sign that AI is becoming part of how businesses operate here,” said Esther Lee, Managing Director, Jobstreet Singapore. “But AI is not just a capability confined to tech teams – as adoption gathers pace, employers will need people who can apply AI in practical ways, and this is exciting news as it creates opportunities for professionals to develop new skills and for businesses to invest in new talent.”
