Economists: daily tasks & AI impact
This page breaks Economists into the top 14 daily O*NET tasks and scores each for Generative AI automation probability. Those task scores roll up to an overall vulnerability index of 62/100 (Moderate automation risk). Struck-through rows are ≥80% automatable; highlighted safer rows are under 30% or primarily physical.
High-automation exposure
No task in this set currently exceeds the 80% threshold, so risk is spread across moderate probabilities rather than a few catastrophic duties.
Durable human work
This profile has little “safe” task mass under our thresholds. Workers should treat AI fluency as mandatory and actively map transferable skills into lower-risk roles.
Importance comes from O*NET incumbent ratings. Automation probability is model-generated for current Generative AI capability (not speculative AGI). Digital / physical / mixed labels describe the modality of the work, which strongly correlates with near-term automation potential.
| Task | Importance | AI probability | Nature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture. Core | 4.61 | — | — |
| Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. Core | 4.25 | — | — |
| Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations. Core | 4.18 | — | — |
| Explain economic impact of policies to the public. Core | 4.04 | — | — |
| Review documents written by others. Core | 4 | — | — |
| Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers. Core | 3.96 | — | — |
| Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. Core | 3.92 | — | — |
| Supervise research projects and students' study projects. Core | 3.83 | — | — |
| Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals. Core | 3.83 | — | — |
| Develop economic guidelines and standards, and prepare points of view used in forecasting trends and formulating economic policy. Core | 3.81 | — | — |
| Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics. Core | 3.53 | — | — |
| 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 | 3.29 | — | — |
| Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness. Core | 3.18 | — | — |
| Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources. Supplemental | 2.83 | — | — |
What remains human
No tasks currently fall under the safe threshold for this occupation.
FAQ
Which Economists tasks are most exposed to AI?
No task in this set currently exceeds the 80% threshold, so risk is spread across moderate probabilities rather than a few catastrophic duties.
Which Economists tasks are safest from Generative AI?
This profile has little “safe” task mass under our thresholds. Workers should treat AI fluency as mandatory and actively map transferable skills into lower-risk roles.
How should I read the Economists task table?
Importance comes from O*NET incumbent ratings. Automation probability is model-generated for current Generative AI capability (not speculative AGI). Digital / physical / mixed labels describe the modality of the work, which strongly correlates with near-term automation potential.