A new report shows that many organisations plan to increase the size of their data teams – however, many professionals say they are unlikely to change employers in 2026.

The Data Salaries & Job Sentiment Analysis 2026 report, published by Analytics Institute and SAS, highlights the growing challenges being experienced by organisations looking to expand their data capabilities. The companies spoke to 167 data and AI employees and Analytics Institute members across Ireland to collect information. 

What was discovered is that there is potentially an emerging AI skills mobility issue in which the heightened demand for data and AI expertise is colliding with a workforce that is increasingly choosing stability over job movement. 

The report found that, while 64pc of organisations have plans to increase the size of their data teams throughout 2026, 70pc of professionals who contributed their information explained that they are unlikely to change employers this year. 

“AI technologies are beginning to reshape roles within the data profession, but their impact is more evolutionary than disruptive,” said Lorcan Malone, chief executive of the Analytics Institute. 

“Rather than replacing expertise, AI is augmenting it, increasing the need for strong governance, critical thinking and the ability to translate outputs into meaningful business outcomes. This makes continuous learning, adaptability and targeted upskilling more important than ever.”

However, he noted retention has become a defining theme within the space, as job mobility has started to slow, tenure is increasing and professionals are placing greater emphasis on meaningful work, career progression and strong leadership.

This, he explained, is leading to the creation of environments that support long-term development where engagement is central to sustaining high-performing data teams. 

Job satisfaction was found to be at reasonable levels for employees across the sector, with nearly half of participants agreeing that they enjoy their role “a lot” or moderately, with most of the remainder stating that they enjoy their role “a little”.

Meaningful work (65pc of respondents), a supportive boss (49pc) and hybrid work (38pc) were also found to be among the most important workplace features or benefits. 

Of the minority of professionals who said they are open to moving, perhaps surprisingly, salary alone was not the key motivator. The study explained that 41pc of professionals would move for a greater challenge. Many want to work on AI and data projects that have real impact, go beyond pilots or cost-cutting exercises, and drive genuine innovation.

“With only around 30pc of professionals willing to move, organisations face competition for a limited group of talent,” said Alan McGlinn, the director of financial services UK&I and Ireland country lead at SAS.

“If companies are poaching talent from the same group, the pond could become very small. To grow capabilities and succeed with AI and data initiatives, companies need to invest in internal skills development, data literacy and training.”

How important is data strategy?

Respondent numbers finding data to be central to organisational strategy rose from 45pc last year to 49pc in 2026, with the number of those who see data as important but not yet central declining slightly from 36pc to 33pc. The report said that this suggests more companies are prioritising data within strategic decision-making. 

Only 0.66pc responded that data is not important, which the report said highlights its “near-universal value”. Data visualisation and business intelligence reporting were found to be among the most critical technical skills in the sector – with 74pc of respondents identifying them as essential – as were project management at 43pc, and machine learning and AI at 33pc. 

Data also suggested there are evolving trends in the tools used by data professionals. Excel at 77pc and SQL at 71pc remain the most widely used technologies, while Python adoption has grown significantly to 53pc, which the report said is reflective of the increasing use of open-source analytics tools across organisations.

The report concludes overall that as organisations increasingly rely on data-driven insight to inform strategy and improve performance, the demand for skilled professionals remains strong, and companies that can attract and retain individuals with both technical expertise and commercial understanding, and develop skills internally where hiring is difficult, will be best positioned to unlock the full value of their data and AI investments.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.