AI injects fresh momentum into job market as new roles emerge

The rise of jobs done through "human-AI collaboration" is sending a new signal for the transformation of the employment market.

The latest report from Chinese classifieds website 58.com highlights a surge in "human-AI collaboration" roles, with nearly 50 new job categories and 40 types of AI-powered services emerging on the platform.

"Tasks that once took two hours, like filtering property listings and client sources, can now be completed in just half an hour. And client messages that were easily missed in the past are now automatically responded to within five seconds by AI-powered chats," said Zhang Xu, a real estate agent from Shanghai.

A girl interacts with an artificial intelligence (AI) robot at the fourth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan Province, April 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Like Zhang, many real estate agents are transitioning from traditional roles to become AI-powered real estate agents. They're using AI for tasks like organizing listings, smart matching, automating content creation, and engaging in 24/7 client communication.

In fact, the high-efficiency human-AI collaboration model has already permeated various industries, including manufacturing and network media, giving rise to a plethora of new roles that cater to emerging needs.

In 2025, BMW rolled out its 360-degree, full-chain AI strategy in China, embedding AI deeply across its entire value chain. The company now has four major R&D and innovation hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang in northeast China's Liaoning Province, and Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province, and over the past three years, its R&D and digital workforce in Nanjing alone has tripled.

According to the World Economic Forum's "the Future of Jobs Report 2025," the global job market will see the creation of 170 million new jobs in the next five years. At the same time, 92 million existing jobs are projected to be displaced by the same technological and economic shifts. This means there will be a net employment increase of 78 million jobs.

Experts suggest that in response to employment transformation driven by AI, all sectors of society are collaborating to build support systems that help workers bridge the skills gap and meet the new demands of human-AI collaboration.

For instance, 58.com has developed more than 10 types of AI training systems, including industrial robotics, AI video production, and AI-generated digital humans.

According to data collected by recruiting platform Zhaopin.com, 36 percent of companies have already provided substantial support for employees using AI, an increase of 13 percentage points from 2024. This shift signals a move in corporate strategy from merely using AI to empowering people through AI, according to Kang Yan, CEO of Zhaopin.com.