New Delhi: One in 10 artificial intelligence (AI) solutions leads and machine learning engineer job postings in India are currently waiting to be filled, according to the latest Randstad Digital report.

“AI Solutions Leads carry vacancy rates of nearly 27% in the US and 18% in the UK and 10.3% in India. Machine Learning (ML) engineers face vacancy rates of 8.2% in the US and 11.2% in India,” according to the report.

Job vacancy rate is the percentage of total jobs that are currently waiting to be filled, with a rate more than 10% representing a massive talent crisis, according to Randstad, the Netherlands-headquartered human resources consulting firm.

Japan’s manpower shortage is among the most severe globally, with a 46.8% vacancy rate for AI engineers and 25% for GenAI engineers, indicating a critical execution gap, according to the report.

Hiring timelines reflect this scarcity. The time to hire AI managers more than doubled to 53 days in the first quarter of 2026 from 25 days four years ago, the findings suggest.

The US (29%) and India (20.5%) together account for nearly half the AI tech job postings globally.

“India is a global powerhouse, holding one-fifth of all AI job openings worldwide. However, our biggest challenge right now is not a lack of people, it is a shortage of advanced skills,” said Milind Shah, managing director, Randstad Digital India.

With enterprises moving from AI experimentation to implementation, AI-augmented developer roles globally have surged 597% since 2021, compared to just 28% for traditional developers. In India, the need for AI-skilled developers has skyrocketed, up more than 660% by early 2026.

Randstad's findings are based on an analysis of more than 35 million global job postings between 2021 and 2026, including nearly 8.7 million in the US and 4.07 million in India.