Will AI replace economists?

Some tasks are already handled by AI or machines; the rest still needs a person. About 2h 58m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks that AI or robots largely take over. The breakdown: 41m done by people with AI help, 2h 58m that AI mostly does alone. The other 4h 20m (54%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 4.7% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 3 of 14 tasks, about 3h 39m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. (1h 41m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture. (1h 17m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers. (41m a shift, people use AI to help)

4h 20m of a typical shift, or 54%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals. (53m a shift)
• Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations. (41m a shift)
• Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. (41m a shift)
• Review documents written by others. (30m a shift)
• Supervise research projects and students' study projects. (24m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 57% talk face to face with others every day

For the 2 tasks in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 4h 48m for a person alone and about 24m with AI. These are Claude's own estimates from real conversations in April and May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index). They describe single requests, not whole workdays, and time saved on a task doesn't mean jobs are cut. The biggest gaps:

• Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques (about 6h 17m alone, 22m with AI)
• Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers (about 3h 20m alone, 27m with AI)

On Indeed, job postings in the Social Science sector are at 126% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), down 6.7% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 1,100 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $124,720 a year ($59.96 an hour), 145% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $67,360 and $238,060 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 4.7% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 20,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,100 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 18,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 571st largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 20,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a master's degree: about 50% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 5 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: graduate degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Mathematics, Judgment and Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Writing
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 4h 20m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Tableau, Structured query language SQL, SAS, R, Python
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Construct and manage economic datasets.
• Present research at seminars and conferences.

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Environmental Economists (1h 47m touched, $125k median pay)
• Climate Change Policy Analysts (0m touched, $82k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 3 observed in real AI use, 11 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.