Economists
Also called: Economic Analyst, Economic Consultant, Economist, Forensic EconomistConduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. May collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 7 of its 13 rated tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 4.7% 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.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Economists”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.4% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 49% 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.4.3 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 | $129,960 | $91,210 to $153,570 | 40 |
| Alaska | $111,040 | $90,530 to $141,090 | 80 |
| Arizona | $79,610 | $79,450 to $124,920 | 340 |
| Arkansas | $91,560 | $65,420 to $107,330 | 50 |
| California | $119,410 | $91,320 to $164,770 | 860 |
| Colorado | $121,410 | $82,430 to $157,350 | 240 |
| Connecticut | $101,400 | $88,440 to $129,340 | 210 |
| Delaware | $159,120 | $102,270 to $167,430 | 70 |
| District of Columbia | $167,590 | $115,910 to $224,080 | 3,000 |
| Florida | $102,430 | $72,880 to $134,180 | 500 |
| Georgia | $122,570 | $98,790 to $162,410 | 260 |
| Hawaii | $83,050 | $71,000 to $96,390 | 50 |
| Idaho | $131,270 | $86,960 to $141,600 | 130 |
| Indiana | $80,750 | $47,350 to $144,640 | 80 |
| Iowa | $96,310 | $64,210 to $133,970 | 70 |
| Kansas | $138,790 | $117,810 to $205,780 | 80 |
| Kentucky | $71,400 | $64,070 to $100,880 | 100 |
| Louisiana | $73,050 | $66,420 to $93,550 | 140 |
| Maine | $91,480 | $74,190 to $115,920 | 70 |
| Maryland | $144,680 | $118,460 to $178,780 | 1,130 |
| Massachusetts | $106,380 | $91,690 to $155,130 | 1,030 |
| Michigan | $106,350 | $82,030 to $150,000 | 320 |
| Minnesota | $105,120 | $63,980 to $142,460 | 500 |
| Missouri | $117,010 | $90,060 to $172,880 | 280 |
| Montana | $89,340 | $73,920 to $105,050 | 90 |
| Nebraska | $75,880 | $56,350 to $101,540 | 90 |
| Nevada | $91,340 | $79,750 to $112,820 | 70 |
| New Hampshire | $86,130 | $81,950 to $108,190 | 50 |
| New Jersey | $167,550 | $126,940 to $192,960 | 280 |
| New Mexico | not published | not published | 120 |
| New York | $136,660 | $104,420 to $224,990 | 910 |
| North Carolina | $136,150 | $79,790 to $172,860 | 290 |
| Ohio | $120,000 | $89,300 to $164,700 | 140 |
| Oklahoma | $89,980 | $81,420 to $145,270 | 80 |
| Oregon | $122,120 | $98,170 to $128,080 | 320 |
| Pennsylvania | $115,000 | $81,470 to $138,010 | 560 |
| Puerto Rico | $70,750 | $64,320 to $76,650 | 100 |
| Tennessee | $117,650 | $96,170 to $145,220 | 80 |
| Texas | $121,420 | $83,900 to $175,000 | 560 |
| Utah | not published | not published | 50 |
| Virginia | $137,590 | $93,920 to $179,730 | 950 |
| Washington | $109,300 | $91,060 to $135,350 | 450 |
| Wisconsin | $84,000 | $72,920 to $110,970 | 280 |
Nationally: $124,720. 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 7 of its 13 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture. | Not published |
| Not much | Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers. | 0.03% |
| AI alone | Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Explain economic impact of policies to the public. | 0.01% |
See all 14 tasks
| Not rated | Review documents written by others. | 0.05% |
| Not much | Supervise research projects and students' study projects. | Not published |
| AI alone | Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals. | Not published |
| AI alone | Develop economic guidelines and standards, and prepare points of view used in forecasting trends and formulating economic policy. | Not published |
| Not much | Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics. | Not published |
| Not much | Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources. | Not published |
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. 6 of the 14 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 14 tasks fall under 14 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.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- and 3 more, in the table below
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Analyze market or industry conditions | |||
| Present information in legal proceedings | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Provide information or assistance to the public | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Explain regulations, policies, or procedures | |||
| Research historical or social issues |
Show all 14 activities
| Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or compliance | |||
| Teach academic or vocational subjects | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters | |||
| Advise others on legal or regulatory matters | |||
| Supervise personnel activities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An analysis or summary24%
- An explanation or answer21%
- A document or report15%
- Advice or a recommendation9%
- A plan or strategy5%
How they worked with Claude
47% 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 economists 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 4,766 moves out
- 1 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 7%
- 2 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 6%
- 3 Chief Executives Very high +3.2% 5%
- 4 Computer Occupations, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Where people moved in from
of 8,352 moves in
- 1 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors Moderate +7.3% 7%
- 2 Accountants and Auditors Very high +5.0% 7%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 5%
- 4 Computer Occupations, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 5 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 5%
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
- 21% bachelor's
- 50% master's
- 25% research doctorate
- 4% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 24 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 26% bachelor's
- 41% master's
- 3% professional degree
- 30% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 406 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
16 programs, such as Agricultural Economics, Environmental/Natural Resource Economics and Financial Mathematics.
See all
- Agricultural Economics
- Environmental/Natural Resource Economics
- Financial Mathematics
- Economics and Computer Science
- Economics and Foreign Language/Literature
- Mathematical Economics
- Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- Economics, General
- Applied Economics
- Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
- Development Economics and International Development
- International Economics
- Economics, Other
- Political Economy
- Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics
- Business/Managerial Economics
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
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/19-3011.00