New report shows surge in demand for agentic AI skills
Job ads mentioning skills related to artificial intelligence artificial intelligence (AI) have more than tripled since January 2024, with demand for agentic AI skills seeing rapid growth, according to a new report from Jobstreet by SEEK.
The report, titled The Jobstreet AI Gauge, revealed that demand for AI-related knowledge and skills in Singapore is seeing consistent growth.
"By analysing job ads over time, we can see which skills employers are seeking and where opportunities are emerging," said Dr Blair Chapman, chief economist at SEEK, in a statement.
"This gives us a clearer view of how AI is shaping the labour market across industries and roles."
According to the report, the share of job ads mentioning AI-related skills increased from 1.3% in January 2024 to 5.1% in August 2026, with a sustained upward trend despite still accounting for only a relatively small share of overall hiring activity.
Singapore also reported the third-highest share of AI job ads across SEEK's eight Asia-Pacific markets, behind Hong Kong (6.6%) and Thailand (5.2%).
Agentic AI sees rapid rise in demand
Among the AI job ads, the report revealed that terms related to agentic AI recorded the fastest growth of the AI skills, with mentions surging by 460% year-on-year between August 2025 and August 2026.
Demand is also increasing for skills needed to deploy AI responsibly, with job ads mentioning AI ethics and governance rising 132% year-on-year.
"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," Chapman said.
"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."
Overall, machine learning has emerged as the most common AI skill referenced in job ads across Singapore, logging a 93% increase in the three months to August 2026.
Demand for skills related to generative AI also went up 92.5% amid growing mentions of terms such as text generation, foundation models, and GPT.
"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 at 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."
The rising demand for AI skills comes in the wake of the Singapore government's efforts to upskill the workforce, with different agencies and sectors rolling out initiatives to train their workers in AI.
