AI exposure Life, physical and social science
Will AI replace economists?
Economists. US occupation 19-3011.
The reading
24.2%
of the time economists spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of economists' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.
Ranked 96 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 87% of them.Further along than 87% of them.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Well above the typical job.Ahead of most of the workforce.
What AI already does for economistsWhat economists no longer do alone
O*NET lists 33 tasks for economists. AI use at work shows up in 5 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.
- Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.Core task mostly automated 1.00
- Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.Core task mostly automated 1.00
- Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques.Core task mostly automated 0.89
- Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.Core task automated and assisted 0.85
- Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers.Core task automated and assisted 0.66
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
28 of the 33 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.Core task
- Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.Core task
- Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.Core task
- Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals.Core task
- Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.Core task
- Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.Core task
Show the other 22
- Develop economic guidelines and standards, and prepare points of view used in forecasting trends and formulating economic policy.Core task
- Develop environmental research project plans, including information on budgets, goals, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.Core task
- Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.Core task
- Develop programs or policy recommendations to promote sustainability and sustainable development.Core task
- Develop systems for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental and economic data.Core task
- Examine the exhaustibility of natural resources or the long-term costs of environmental rehabilitation.Core task
- Explain economic impact of policies to the public.Core task
- Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets.Core task
- Monitor or analyze market and environmental trends.Core task
- Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.Core task
- Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.Core task
- Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.Core task
- Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations.Core task
- Supervise research projects and students' study projects.Core task
- Teach courses in environmental economics.Core task
- Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.Core task
- Testify at regulatory or legislative hearings concerning the estimated effects of changes in legislation or public policy, and present recommendations based on cost-benefit analyses.Core task
- Write research proposals and grant applications to obtain private or public funding for environmental and economic studies.Core task
- Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.Core task
- Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.
- Identify and recommend environmentally friendly business practices.
- Interpret indicators to ascertain the overall health of an environment.
How that compares
Among the 46 life, physical and social science occupations, economists rank 10. The group averages 12.2%, and its most exposed job is Political Scientists at 45.2%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.
Just above in the ranking
- 93Procurement Clerks 24.4%
- 94Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators 24.3%
- 94Management Analysts 24.3%
Just below
What this does and does not mean
Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.
A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.
Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.