Just a quarter of Irish workers report having money left over after paying all the bills at the end of the month as rising costs impact household incomes.

A survey of 1,000 workers by PWC as part of its global workforce survey also found that two-thirds of Irish workers said that cost of living concerns impacted their work in the last 12 months.

Globally, the survey found that 34% of workers had money left over after paying their bills.

The survey also points to a widening AI skills gap. More than half of Irish workers used AI at work in the past 12 months, up from 43%, but still well behind the global average of 64%. Daily use of generative AI tools rose from 10% to 15%, compared with 22% globally, while daily use of AI agents doubled from a low base of 3% to 6%.

Laoise Mullane, AI adoption lead at PwC Ireland, said regular AI users were reporting “higher levels of confidence, ambition and optimism”, but warned against “creating a divide between those who are forging ahead with AI and those who risk being left behind”.

Among those who had used AI, 62% said it improved the quality of their work and 58% said it boosted their creativity, though both figures trailed global averages. More than a quarter (27%) expect AI to completely or significantly transform their roles within three years.

Despite the pressures, 57% of Irish workers are very confident about their job security, with more citing economic volatility (45%) than AI (41%) as the biggest threat.

They also show a high degree of readiness for change. Almost three-quarters feel ready to adapt to new ways of working, while 68% understand the skills they will need for the future. 

Workers also appear restless. Over a fifth (22%) said they were extremely or very likely to change employer in the next year, above the global rate of 19%, while 34% are likely to seek a pay rise and 28% a promotion.

Almost three-quarters (73%) said they felt ready to adapt to new ways of working, but 29% said fatigue or burnout was limiting their productivity.

Rebecca McCann, senior manager at PwC Ireland, said employers needed to give staff “the time, practical support and development opportunities to learn, experiment and participate in change”.