Writers and Authors
Also called: Author, Copywriter, Freelance Writer, WriterOriginate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on all 20 of its tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 0.3% 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 “Writers and authors”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.5% 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 36% 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 | $66,950 | $51,840 to $93,550 | 180 |
| Arizona | $55,990 | $47,340 to $74,570 | 600 |
| Arkansas | $47,970 | $39,150 to $62,790 | 270 |
| California | $86,480 | $75,530 to $127,870 | 8,390 |
| Colorado | $76,830 | $51,710 to $95,420 | 1,300 |
| Connecticut | $98,460 | $73,610 to $129,260 | 480 |
| District of Columbia | $129,300 | $100,320 to $158,020 | 1,050 |
| Florida | $68,080 | $47,410 to $93,100 | 3,010 |
| Georgia | $74,710 | $58,700 to $99,260 | 820 |
| Hawaii | not published | not published | 60 |
| Idaho | $56,360 | $48,770 to $69,120 | 90 |
| Illinois | $68,220 | $43,440 to $97,280 | 2,640 |
| Indiana | $75,820 | $59,080 to $90,590 | 450 |
| Iowa | $61,010 | $50,280 to $69,220 | 290 |
| Kansas | $65,840 | $43,740 to $72,700 | 240 |
| Kentucky | $48,780 | $40,760 to $64,550 | 350 |
| Louisiana | $89,520 | $55,860 to $105,970 | 480 |
| Maine | not published | not published | 200 |
| Maryland | $104,330 | $77,020 to $140,670 | 540 |
| Massachusetts | $85,260 | $67,770 to $108,030 | 1,350 |
| Minnesota | $72,810 | $61,970 to $86,390 | 720 |
| Mississippi | $54,180 | $41,600 to $63,770 | 130 |
| Missouri | $58,140 | $48,130 to $77,570 | 600 |
| Montana | not published | not published | 90 |
| Nebraska | $65,470 | $55,290 to $77,260 | 240 |
| Nevada | $63,910 | $48,130 to $74,940 | 190 |
| New Hampshire | $71,830 | $50,750 to $98,550 | 180 |
| New Jersey | $81,590 | $60,610 to $103,120 | 1,180 |
| New Mexico | not published | not published | 90 |
| New York | not published | not published | 7,480 |
| North Carolina | $63,660 | $47,940 to $83,360 | 1,810 |
| North Dakota | $50,860 | $47,480 to $65,590 | 80 |
| Ohio | $65,930 | $55,680 to $81,060 | 830 |
| Oklahoma | $58,770 | $43,640 to $76,950 | 220 |
| Oregon | $80,540 | $52,620 to $104,010 | 950 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,410 | $54,030 to $102,480 | 1,080 |
| Puerto Rico | $43,440 | $37,010 to $47,590 | 90 |
| Rhode Island | $70,190 | $56,180 to $84,170 | 110 |
| South Carolina | $51,920 | $41,610 to $76,330 | 520 |
| South Dakota | $56,700 | $54,080 to $59,710 | 60 |
| Tennessee | $58,870 | $47,120 to $78,900 | 1,260 |
| Texas | $69,990 | $53,950 to $96,260 | 2,320 |
| Utah | $64,530 | $53,800 to $86,240 | 410 |
| Vermont | $94,430 | $79,920 to $107,590 | 110 |
| Virginia | $85,000 | $64,730 to $104,000 | 1,530 |
| Washington | $85,700 | $65,330 to $109,000 | 770 |
| West Virginia | $64,410 | $47,530 to $72,340 | 110 |
| Wisconsin | $64,370 | $51,710 to $77,220 | 710 |
| Wyoming | $49,650 | $41,560 to $57,600 | not published |
Nationally: $76,910. 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 all 20 of its tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Present drafts and ideas to clients. | 0.02% |
| AI alone | Edit or rewrite existing written material as necessary, and submit written material for approval by supervisor, editor, or publisher. | 0.94% |
| AI alone | Conduct research to obtain factual information and authentic detail, using sources such as newspaper accounts, diaries, and interviews. | Not published |
| AI alone | Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers. | Not published |
| AI alone | Vary language and tone of messages based on product and medium. | 0.20% |
| AI alone | Write articles, bulletins, sales letters, speeches, and other related informative, marketing and promotional material. | 0.17% |
See all 20 tasks
| AI alone | Prepare works in appropriate format for publication, and send them to publishers or producers. | Not published |
| AI alone | Plan project arrangements or outlines, and organize material accordingly. | Not published |
| AI alone | Write to customers in their terms and on their level so that the script, story, or advertisement message is more readily received. | 0.07% |
| AI alone | Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays. | Not published |
| AI alone | Write advertising material for use by publication, broadcast, or internet media to promote the sale of goods and services. | 0.14% |
| AI + software | Conduct research and interviews to determine which of a product's selling features should be promoted. | Not published |
| AI + software | Discuss with the client the product, advertising themes and methods, and any changes that should be made in advertising copy. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Work with staff to develop script, story, or advertising concepts. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Collaborate with other writers on specific projects. | Not published |
| AI + software | Consult with sales, media and marketing representatives to obtain information on product or service and discuss style and length of advertising written material. | Not published |
| AI + software | Review advertising trends, consumer surveys, and other data regarding marketing of goods and services to determine the best way to promote products. | Not published |
| AI + software | Follow appropriate procedures to get copyrights for completed work. | Not published |
| AI alone | Develop advertising campaigns for a wide range of clients, working with an advertising agency's creative director and art director to determine the best way to present advertising information. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Invent names for products and write the slogans that appear on packaging, brochures and other promotional material. | 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. 10 of the 20 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 20 tasks fall under 13 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
- #7 Explain technical details of products or services
- #9 Edit written materials or documents
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write material for artistic or commercial purposes | |||
| Edit written materials or documents | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Explain technical details of products or services | |||
| Communicate with others about specifications or project details | |||
| Monitor external affairs, trends, or events | |||
| Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications | |||
| Obtain formal documentation or authorization |
Show all 13 activities
| Collect data about consumer needs or opinions | |||
| Present arts or entertainment performances | |||
| Coordinate artistic or entertainment activities | |||
| Communicate with others about business strategies | |||
| Develop business or marketing plans |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report23%
- An email or message18%
- Marketing or social media content14%
- Creative writing13%
- A resume or job application9%
How they worked with Claude
55% 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 writers and authors 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 162,295 moves out
- 1 Editors Very high -1.1% 11%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 3 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 4%
- 4 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 4%
- 5 News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists Very high -5.9% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 206,799 moves in
- 1 Editors Very high -1.1% 10%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 3 News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists Very high -5.9% 4%
- 4 Public Relations Specialists Very high +1.8% 3%
- 5 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists Very high +7.0% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 1% less than high school
- 4% high school
- 8% some college
- 4% associate's
- 50% bachelor's
- 26% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 4% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 2,785 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
19 programs, such as Communication, General, Speech Communication and Rhetoric and Mass Communication/Media Studies.
See all
- Communication, General
- Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- Mass Communication/Media Studies
- Journalism
- Broadcast Journalism
- Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other
- Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Communication
- Writing, General
- Creative Writing
- Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing
- Rhetoric and Composition
- Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Other
- General Literature
- Children's and Adolescent Literature
- Literature, Other
- Playwriting and Screenwriting
- Comedy Writing and Performance
- Business/Corporate Communications, General
- Business/Corporate Communications, Other
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)
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