AI Talent Is the Hardest Skill to Hire — Here's the Paradox

AI was supposed to solve the hiring crisis. Instead, it created a new one. According to ManpowerGroup's 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey — the largest of its kind, covering nearly 40,000 employers across 41 countries — 72% of employers globally can't fill open roles right now. That's near the highest level the survey has ever recorded. And the twist? The two hardest skills to hire are AI Model and Application Development, cited by 27% of employers, and AI Literacy at 26%. Both outpace traditional engineering, sales, and IT. Companies are racing to deploy AI — but the people who can build and use those systems are in critically short supply. What's making this worse: only 17% of employers are using AI and automation as part of their solution to the shortage. Most are falling back on older playbooks — raising wages, reskilling staff, and broadening candidate pools. Those strategies aren't wrong, but they're not fast enough for a gap this structural. In this episode, we break down what the data actually means for CHROs and talent leaders — and what it looks like to close the gap intentionally, before the competition does.