Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists
Also called: Benefits Analyst, Benefits Specialist, Compensation Analyst, Compensation SpecialistConduct programs of compensation and benefits and job analysis for employer. May specialize in specific areas, such as position classification and pension programs.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 13 of its 21 rated tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 6.0% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 33% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $57,710 | $51,480 to $77,250 | 1,000 |
| Alaska | $79,160 | $62,980 to $96,390 | 180 |
| Arizona | $74,930 | $57,120 to $93,960 | 2,230 |
| Arkansas | $61,280 | $47,020 to $80,640 | 490 |
| California | $91,410 | $73,790 to $117,240 | 13,430 |
| Colorado | $92,560 | $76,800 to $120,330 | 1,980 |
| Connecticut | $83,100 | $66,620 to $107,190 | 1,140 |
| Delaware | $99,560 | $74,010 to $119,520 | 290 |
| District of Columbia | $86,710 | $74,730 to $106,250 | 650 |
| Florida | $65,020 | $51,150 to $82,930 | 6,610 |
| Georgia | $66,690 | $56,660 to $97,280 | 4,780 |
| Hawaii | $64,090 | $54,450 to $87,190 | 260 |
| Idaho | $63,680 | $48,390 to $76,230 | 500 |
| Illinois | $79,300 | $62,780 to $101,180 | 4,410 |
| Indiana | $68,300 | $51,270 to $83,060 | 1,820 |
| Iowa | $67,160 | $56,910 to $84,720 | 1,070 |
| Kansas | $67,990 | $55,990 to $85,340 | 640 |
| Kentucky | $64,690 | $51,970 to $78,260 | 670 |
| Louisiana | $62,700 | $47,320 to $84,220 | 1,050 |
| Maine | $77,400 | $66,810 to $92,400 | 180 |
| Maryland | $79,700 | $63,530 to $99,970 | 1,650 |
| Massachusetts | $95,890 | $76,530 to $125,730 | 3,390 |
| Michigan | $79,480 | $62,540 to $99,460 | 2,480 |
| Minnesota | $78,770 | $63,760 to $101,110 | not published |
| Mississippi | $51,670 | $40,140 to $75,430 | 370 |
| Missouri | $74,260 | $58,590 to $93,820 | 1,670 |
| Montana | $75,290 | $59,150 to $83,570 | 190 |
| Nebraska | $67,410 | $53,330 to $86,620 | 460 |
| New Hampshire | $80,810 | $72,950 to $97,750 | 380 |
| New Jersey | $85,040 | $68,080 to $112,060 | 3,150 |
| New Mexico | $83,540 | $66,840 to $106,200 | 340 |
| New York | $83,200 | $69,450 to $103,320 | 11,470 |
| North Carolina | $67,970 | $56,730 to $94,270 | 3,930 |
| North Dakota | $70,480 | $57,470 to $86,730 | 100 |
| Ohio | $75,780 | $59,040 to $94,610 | 2,950 |
| Oklahoma | $64,260 | $50,980 to $86,030 | 1,200 |
| Oregon | $83,320 | $69,220 to $101,190 | 1,330 |
| Pennsylvania | $70,640 | $55,470 to $87,040 | 4,910 |
| Puerto Rico | $42,110 | $35,390 to $62,960 | 290 |
| Rhode Island | $80,330 | $66,710 to $109,030 | 300 |
| South Carolina | $63,450 | $49,100 to $81,990 | 1,160 |
| South Dakota | $64,630 | $54,080 to $78,630 | 630 |
| Tennessee | $69,990 | $56,030 to $84,990 | 2,150 |
| Texas | $74,800 | $60,800 to $96,580 | not published |
| Utah | $52,090 | $52,090 to $77,210 | not published |
| Vermont | $76,030 | $63,630 to $86,660 | 170 |
| Virginia | $81,190 | $63,510 to $102,850 | 3,500 |
| Washington | $86,630 | $78,610 to $107,840 | 3,350 |
| West Virginia | $48,080 | $40,770 to $68,820 | 580 |
| Wisconsin | $72,130 | $60,820 to $84,730 | 1,840 |
| Wyoming | $69,090 | $69,090 to $69,090 | not published |
Nationally: $78,210. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 13 of its 21 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Administer employee insurance, pension, and savings plans, working with insurance brokers and plan carriers. | Not published |
| Not much | Ensure company compliance with federal and state laws, including reporting requirements. | Not published |
| AI + software | Advise managers and employees on state and federal employment regulations, collective agreements, benefit and compensation policies, personnel procedures, and classification programs. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Research employee benefit and health and safety practices, and recommend changes or modifications to existing policies. | Not published |
| AI + software | Perform multifactor data and cost analyses that may be used in areas such as support of collective bargaining agreements. | Not published |
| Not rated | Develop and administer compensation programs, such as merit or incentive pay. | under 0.01% |
See all 22 tasks
| Not much | Plan and develop curricula and materials for training programs and conduct training. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in preparing and maintaining personnel records and handbooks. | Not published |
| Not much | Evaluate job positions, determining classification, exempt or non-exempt status, and salary. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare occupational classifications, job descriptions, and salary scales. | Not published |
| Not much | Consult with, or serve as, technical liaison between business, industry, government, and union officials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Assess need for and develop job analysis instruments and materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Develop, implement, administer, and evaluate personnel and labor relations programs, including performance appraisal, affirmative action, and employment equity programs. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe, interview, and survey employees and conduct focus group meetings to collect job, organizational, and occupational information. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide advice on the resolution of classification and salary complaints. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Plan, develop, evaluate, improve, and communicate methods and techniques for selecting, promoting, compensating, evaluating, and training workers. | Not published |
| AI + software | Research job and worker requirements, structural and functional relationships among jobs and occupations, and occupational trends. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare reports, such as organization and flow charts and career path reports, to summarize job analysis and evaluation and compensation analysis information. | Not published |
| AI alone | Analyze organizational, occupational, and industrial data to facilitate organizational functions and provide technical information to business, industry, and government. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Negotiate collective agreements on behalf of employers or workers, and mediate labor disputes and grievances. | Not published |
| AI + software | Advise staff of individuals' qualifications. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare research results for publication in form of journals, books, manuals, and film. | 0.01% |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 5 of the 22 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 22 tasks fall under 16 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- #20 Present research or technical information
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze data to improve operations | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters | |||
| Develop organizational policies, systems, or processes | |||
| Evaluate programs, practices, or processes | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Analyze business or financial data | |||
| Research organizational behavior, processes, or performance |
Show all 16 activities
| Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities | |||
| Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards | |||
| Perform human resources activities | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report29%
- An academic paper or thesis18%
- An explanation or answer12%
- Advice or a recommendation12%
- An email or message7%
How they worked with Claude
63% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 78,009 moves out
- 1 Human Resources Specialists Very high +6.4% 10%
- 2 Human Resources Managers High +5.5% 6%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
- 5 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 79,842 moves in
- 1 Human Resources Specialists Very high +6.4% 10%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 7%
- 3 Human Resources Managers High +5.5% 4%
- 4 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 5% high school
- 86% bachelor's
- 10% post-bachelor's certificate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 2% less than high school
- 11% high school
- 20% some college
- 10% associate's
- 41% bachelor's
- 14% master's
- 1% professional degree
- 1% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 727 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
4 programs, such as Business Administration and Management, General, Finance, General and Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General.
See all
- Business Administration and Management, General
- Finance, General
- Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
- Insurance
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
8.0% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 1.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/13-1141.00