The world’s biggest talent company has identified the jobs expected to be most in demand in 2026—but as artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, which careers will remain secure?
Randstad released its rankings on Tuesday, outlining both the occupations employers are seeking most urgently and the highest-paid professions of the year.
Sales assistants topped the list of roles with the greatest demand, followed by office clerks and registered nurses.
Although healthcare accounted for just one of the three most sought-after jobs, medical professionals dominated the highest-paying occupations.
Surgeons led the salary rankings with an average income of $500,000, followed by anaesthetists on $450,000 and psychiatrists earning about $350,000.
Futurologist Professor Rocky Scopelliti said the growing use of AI would eliminate some routine tasks but create an ongoing need for human oversight. As a result, skilled workers and specialists with deep expertise could become even more valuable.
‘AI can make a competent first draft cheap, but that makes the person who can spot a costly mistake more valuable,’ he told the Daily Mail.
Registered nurses ranked third among Australia’s most urgently needed workers, according to the report
Retail positions such as sales assistant roles remained in strong demand in 2026 despite the rise of online shopping
Randstad also published its ranking of Australia’s highest-paid jobs for 2026
Randstad general manager Madeline Hill said the findings highlighted a divide between demand and pay, with customer-facing jobs urgently needed but often offering lower salaries.
‘Human centric roles continue to be an incredibly important part of Australia’s skills economy,’ she said.
‘Sales workers, in particular, are essential for businesses to help them grow, stay connected to customers and deliver the products and services that consumers need. It is no wonder they remain a critical part of the jobs market across the country.
‘Communication, organisation and people skills are incredibly valuable in the workplace and sales staff need all three.’
However, both rankings could change significantly in the years ahead as artificial intelligence becomes more widespread across the economy.
Demand for skilled trades—including construction managers, electricians, metal fitters and machinists—is expected to increase as Australia builds the growing number of data centres required to power AI systems.
‘The data centre boom is creating huge demand for the infrastructure that drives and supports tomorrow’s technology solutions and these data centres require a lot of skilled tradespeople to build them,’ Ms Hill said.
A range of AI-focused professions are also expected to move up the list of sought-after careers.
Construction project managers ranked eighth among the highest-paid occupations
Randstad released its ranking of the jobs with the most vacancies on Tuesday
Construction labour roles remained in demand, with many trade jobs considered relatively protected from AI
‘While surgeons rank the highest paid professionals, we expect to see data scientists rise through the ranks for demand and pay, as high growth sectors like AI, tech, banks and telcos rely on these specialists for business growth,’ said Ms Hill.
‘These professionals have large room for salary growth and lucrative career opportunities with senior roles paying above $200,000 a year.’
Professor Scopelliti told the Daily Mail that AI would have a major effect on employment, but was unlikely to replicate the human element entirely.
‘Look at what happens when the standard answer is wrong,’ he said.
‘AI can draft a care plan, but a nurse at the bedside may be the first to notice that the patient is deteriorating. It can estimate the cost of a building job but someone has to inspect the site and decide whether it’s safe to proceed.
‘In both cases, AI changes the work. The judgement that matters most comes when the situation departs from the script.’
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Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP, said manual occupations could prove among the safest in a workplace increasingly shaped by AI.
‘A lot of the roles being threatened in every area are those of white collar workers,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘We’ll still have jobs for tradies. If anything, as people get richer, there could be more demand as people seek to renovate their homes and so on.
Demand was expected to grow for physically oriented jobs, while routine white-collar work such as data processing faced greater exposure to AI
‘All of the digging that was going to be replaced by machines has already been replaced by machines. You’ve got heavy machinery to dig the holes but you still need labourers on construction sites.’
Both experts also pointed to healthcare as a sector likely to see sustained growth in employment and wages.
‘Healthcare will remain in strong demand, simply because we’ve got an ageing population,’ Mr Oliver said.
‘As wealth levels rise, it will lead to more demand for quality healthcare.
‘By the same token, healthcare workers will still be in very strong demand alongside skilled trades and field technicians.’
Professor Scopelliti said workers with experience in specialised areas would probably attract more interest from employers and command higher salaries.
Other high-stakes roles requiring sound judgement, including major infrastructure project management and cyber security, were also expected to gain value.
‘The premium won’t go to whoever can generate the most answers. It will go to the people trusted to make the call when the answers conflict,’ he said.
Healthcare jobs were both highly sought after and among the best paid—a trend experts expect to continue
He estimated that established medical specialists would earn between $250,000 and $500,000, while project directors and cyber security executives could make between $200,000 and $350,000.
By contrast, Mr Oliver and Professor Scopelliti identified administrative positions, customer service call centres, routine commercial work and processing roles as particularly vulnerable to AI-driven disruption.
Workers hoping to protect their careers were encouraged to develop distinctive skills and build practical experience beyond entry-level duties.
‘Looking at IT example, if you’re a junior programmer then you want to upskill yourself really quickly. You don’t want to stay a junior programmer for too long,’ Mr Oliver said.
‘If you can make that transition up the ladder quickly then you’ve probably got a secure job. If you’re an AI expert, then you’ll be in very strong demand.’
Professor Scopelliti advised Australians to ‘pick one task you already understand and use AI to improve it’.
‘An apprentice can compare an AI-generated materials list against the plans and supplier specifications. An office worker can use AI to draft a customer response, then check whether the policy supports it and whether the promised action actually happened,’ he said.
‘Don’t tell an employer you know how to prompt AI. Show them where it got something wrong, how you caught it and what you did next.’
The most secure and best-paid careers, the experts suggested, will belong to people who can use AI for routine solutions while applying specialist knowledge when circumstances become more complex.
‘The skill is knowing when a good-sounding answer is good enough to act on – and when you need to stop and check,’ Professor Scopelliti said.
‘Creativity is what you do when the standard answer doesn’t fit the person in front of you.’
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How should Australia balance AI advances with protecting well-paid, meaningful jobs for people?