AI is cutting wages before taking jobs, says Apollo report

A new report from Apollo Global Management says AI is starting to cut wages for some jobs, rather than replacing them entirely. The study looked at 321 occupations since 2023 and found that jobs most exposed to AI saw average wage growth drop by 6.7%, matching the rise of ChatGPT.

Low-income workers are hit hardest. Service workers' wage growth fell by 24.3%, and the bottom 25% of earners saw a 10.7% drop. High earners weren't affected much. Researchers used Anthropic's economic index to measure AI exposure, with computer programmers and statistical assistants seeing clear wage declines.

Some jobs saw bigger drops due to industry changes, like radio DJs whose wages dropped 52% in two years. But some moderately exposed jobs actually saw wage increases, like personal financial advisors with 8.4% growth.

The report estimates about 5.8 million U.S. workers are in high AI-exposure jobs. As AI spreads more in business, this number could grow, impacting income inequality and labor policies in coming years.