AI Adoption Slows Wage Growth for Low-Paid Workers, Study Finds
A new Apollo Global Management white paper shows that AI exposure has trimmed real wage growth for many occupations, especially low-income workers, while having no clear effect on overall employment.
Apollo Global Management’s latest white paper analyzes wage and employment trends across 321 U.S. occupations in the wake of rising AI use. By pairing Bureau of Labor Statistics figures with Anthropic’s Economic Index, the study finds that occupations with the highest AI exposure suffered a 6.7% dip in real wage growth after 2023, while overall job numbers remained statistically unchanged. The wage squeeze is concentrated among service workers, who saw a 24.3% slowdown, and the lowest-earning 25%, whose wages fell 10.7%.
In contrast, higher-paid workers showed no significant impact, and some moderately exposed jobs, like personal finance advisors, posted wage increases of 8.4%. The authors estimate roughly 5.8 million workers occupy highly AI-exposed roles, warning of growing income inequality as adoption expands.
Why it matters
The findings suggest AI could widen pay gaps even if it does not eliminate jobs, affecting millions of workers.
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