The widespread adoption of AI is having far-reaching impacts on the global job market.
In addition to driving elevated layoffs in the tech sector and beyond, the expanding influence of AI is reshuffling which skills are most in demand, and contributing to friction between talent supply and that demand, according to a new study from Toptal .
The High-skilled Job Report for October 2025 outlines an array of both positive and negative month-over-month and year-over-year trends, some of which appear dramatic and even contradictory at first glance. But upon careful review, it’s clear that the spikes and troughs are due to the same thing: wide-reaching instability as organizations adjust to quickly evolving technology and volatile macroeconomic conditions.
In an effort to meet this moment, companies are rapidly adjusting business models, strategies, talent portfolios, and hiring to support their changing priorities. In the job market, this is playing out as dramatic increases in demand for certain skill sets, while other types of expertise are temporarily deprioritized.
What’s Different About This Job Data
It has been extremely difficult for economists, labor experts, and job seekers to understand the current white-collar job market. Job listings are plentiful, but many openings are overwhelmed with hundreds or even thousands of applicants, and many laid-off professionals—and recent graduates—are struggling to find work. One reason for this confusion is the continued persistence of ghost job postings that companies advertise but have no intention of filling immediately (or ever).
The Toptal Market Strength Scores in the report solve for this by equally weighting stated demand, as measured by unique open job listings and offered compensation, against actual hiring. The scores also differ from general labor data because they exclude entry-level roles, focusing on demand for technology and professional services professionals with at least five years of experience. Because Toptal is the world’s largest remote workforce, they filter their demand data for explicitly remote or hybrid roles.
Which Workers Are Most in Demand Now?
Demand for Data Science Experts Grew 23% YoY
Given the fundamental importance of data in artificial intelligence, it's perhaps unsurprising that data science expertise is experiencing an increase in demand. While demand for these experts dipped 7% month-over-month, according to Toptal’s October 2025 report, year-over-year demand grew by double-digits (23%), for a Toptal Market Strength Score of Strong.
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| A negative change in demand of more than -15% equals a Toptal Market Strength Score of Poor, a change between -15% and +15% equals a score of Moderate, and a positive change greater than +15% equals a score of Strong. Image Courtesy of Toptal |
This strong demand continues a trend of increasing demand for data science experts that Toptal has noted for several quarters in a row. For example, year-over-year demand was up by 40% as of the end of Q3 2025, by 28% as of Q2, and by 32% as of Q1. Toptal data science leaders also say that a premium is being placed on data professionals who can translate their technical skills into business insights. There is an ongoing strategy gap in AI, with organizations struggling to determine the most valuable AI use cases and ROI measurement throughout production. Given that, demand favors experts “who can connect the dots between technical fluency, commercial savvy, and product thinking,” says Brad DeFrank, Director of Delivery and AI Strategy at Toptal. “Analytics in this landscape isn’t about dashboards, it’s about decisions.”
Demand for Developers Increased 24% YoY
Toptal data suggests that some experienced software developers are also benefiting from the rapid adoption of AI. Demand grew 5% month-over-month in October 2025 for a Toptal Market Strength Score of Moderate, while year-over-year growth was Strong, with a surge of 24%.
Vrinda Dabke, Toptal’s VP of Global Technology Services, said she is seeing a sustained—but selective—demand specifically for senior-level development specialists, driven by organizations’ need for immediate, high-impact ROI. “The market continues to favor strategy-based hiring, prioritizing candidates who can demonstrate immediate, transformative ROI through skills like generative AI integration, MLOps, and advanced cloud security,” she notes in the report.
Demand for Product Managers Increased 21% YoY
Demand for experienced product managers increased by 13% month over month and by 21% year over year, according to Toptal’s October 2025 report. These increases were also likely due in part to rapid AI adoption. Érico Sabino, Enterprise Matching Team Lead at Toptal, is seeing the highest demand for product managers with expertise in LLMs and artificial intelligence, particularly roles focused on AI integration, such as AI product managers for internal workflow automation and AI-driven personal assistant applications. Furthermore, a “focus on minimum viable products and product roadmaps for AI solutions underscores a strategic trend toward rapid innovation and market responsiveness,” he says.
Demand for Marketing Experts Increased 18% YoY
The need for marketers may initially seem unrelated to AI adoption. But product marketing expertise is extremely important for differentiated messaging and positioning—particularly in the age of AI, when companies must be able to clearly explain their AI integrations and offerings, says Chris Krohn, GM of Toptal’s Marketing Agency. Demand for experienced marketing experts increased by 4% month over month, and by 18% year over year, for a Toptal Market Strength Score of Strong.
| Month-Over-Month Toptal Market Strength Score* | Year-Over-Year Toptal Market Strength Score* | |
| Data Science Experts | -7%, Moderate | +23%, Strong |
| Developers | +5%, Moderate | +24%, Strong |
| Product Managers | +13%, Moderate | +21%, Strong |
| Marketing Experts | +4%, Moderate | +18%, Strong |
* A negative change in demand of more than -15% equals a score of Poor, a change between -15% and +15% equals a score of Moderate, and a positive change greater than +15% equals a score of Strong.
Which Professional Sectors Are Suffering Most in the Face of AI?
Toptal includes 10 technology and professional services areas of expertise in its report: data science, design, development, finance, information security, management consulting, marketing, product management, project management, and sales. The October report notes that year-over-year demand for experienced designers, information security experts, and management consultants all fell by double digits.
As noted earlier, rapid adoption of AI is temporarily shifting talent priorities at many organizations while they focus on filling the most urgent data- and AI-related roles. But there is a possibility that automation of certain tasks may shift the market for some areas of expertise in a more lasting way.
For example, access to AI-driven analytics and strategy tools may decrease
1981organizations’ needs for certain types of management consultants. Indeed, Toptal’s analysis noted a moderate 13% decrease in overall demand for these experts year over year.
But at the same time, Michael Valocchi, Toptal’s Senior Client Solutions Advisor, notes that demand specific to business consultants who can help create use cases for AI was actually up. “We also saw an increased demand for people and change management experts as new challenges arose from AI and transformation efforts. We anticipate even greater demand for leadership development as companies continue to reinvent themselves,” he notes.
Similarly, demand is down for more basic information security expertise that can be replaced or augmented by automation. Meanwhile, “we saw an urgent, emerging need for professionals who could help define and implement an AI security posture management layer to mitigate new risks, such as model poisoning and LLM jailbreaking, positioning AI risk assessment and AI/ML security architecture as critical governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) components,” notes Zohra Ibrahimi, Practice Director, Cyber and Information Security Services, at Toptal.
| Month-Over-Month Toptal Market Strength Score | Year-Over-Year Toptal Market Strength Score | |
| Designers | -14%, Moderate | -24%, Poor |
| Information Security Experts | -7%, Moderate | -23%, Poor |
| Management Consultants | -6%, Moderate | -13%, Moderate |
AI Will Continue to Reshuffle Demand and Complicate the Job Market
The Toptal data focuses on roles that require at least five years of experience, so it can’t speak to whether entry-level roles in data science, development, product management, or marketing are experiencing the same lift as more senior positions. One thing the data did highlight, however, was the contrast between how highly experienced professionals are faring in the face of AI versus those who are just starting out. Trends in the broader job market that include all levels of experience were generally more negative, according to the Toptal report, which cited a 6.7% year-over-year drop in new job postings on Hacker News, as well as a drop in new job postings in the US, UK, Germany, France, and most other major economies. (Canada was the one exception.)
The job market is likely to continue to remain volatile and uneven until new business models and talent strategies stabilize. Workers of all experience levels will need to stay flexible and tuned into trends that suggest which skills are rising in value and which are being automated away.
By Erik Stettler, Chief Economist, Toptal
Erik is the chief economist at Toptal, the world’s largest fully remote workforce of more than 20,000 highly vetted professionals in technology, design, finance, marketing, and strategic consulting. A data scientist and management consultant, Erik is a former senior analyst at economic consulting firm NERA and co-founder of the global venture capital fund Firstrock Capital. Erik holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard.
