Lightcast 2025 job-posting analysis; premium versus postings without AI skills, current US$.
AI skill wage premium is measured in Lightcast’s 2025 job-posting analysis. The benchmark compares postings mentioning AI skills with postings without those capabilities, using the salary premium and annual pay difference reported by Lightcast. Postings mentioning AI skills offered 28% higher salaries, equal to US$18,000 more per year. The same source did not publish a clean software-skill baseline, so the production comparison uses the non-AI-skill posting baseline.
| Rank | Entry | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Postings mentioning AI skills | 28% higher salaries | 2025 report |
| 2 | Annual salary difference | US$18,000 | 2025 report |
Source 1: Lightcast
Publisher: Lightcast
Dataset/table: Beyond the Buzz report summary
Units: percent premium and current US$ per year
Date checked: 2026-05-24
Evidence: Supports the 28% salary premium, nearly US$18,000 annual difference and 1.3-billion-posting source base.
Lightcast states that the analysis is based on more than 1.3 billion job postings. The premium is postings-based and may reflect role mix, seniority and industry composition.
Use the Lightcast reported premium and annual salary difference directly. Do not infer a software baseline from a different source in the public benchmark.
The headline premium and annual dollar uplift come from one Lightcast source. The requested software baseline fails same-source proof and is not used in the graphic.
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