AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 19-3011.00
Will AI replace Economists?
Economists: AI can already handle 5 of 14 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Economists, from most to least exposed. 5 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review documents written by others. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. | Estimated | Standard | |
| 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. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Supervise research projects and students' study projects. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Develop economic guidelines and standards, and prepare points of view used in forecasting trends and formulating economic policy. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Explain economic impact of policies to the public. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 3 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 11 of 14. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 17,790
- Median annual wage
- $124,720
- Middle half of earners
- $89,330 to $174,720
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.2%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Environmental Economists 82% skill overlap, about 6 months to move Exposure67
- Economics Teachers, Postsecondary 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure64
- Epidemiologists 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure55
- Statisticians 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure62
- Industrial Ecologists 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure63
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Economists and AI
Will AI replace Economists?
AI already handles 5 of the 14 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 59 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.2% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Economists?
59 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 3 of the 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 11 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Economists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Review documents written by others; Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques; Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers. They are three of the 5 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Economists, and what do they earn?
17,790 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $124,720 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.2% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Economists. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/economists
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