What is an AI worker? Evidence from Matched Vacancy-Hires

Mark Hellsten
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Mark Hellsten: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden

No 393, Ratio Working Papers from The Ratio Institute

Abstract: Despite growing policy interest in AI workforce development, surprisingly little is known about what defines these workers, or indeed if they differ from their occupational peers. Using a novel matched vacancy-hire dataset linking Swedish job postings to the individuals hired to fill them, drawn from register data on the entire Swedish population, I study the characteristics of workers who develop and apply AI. Observable traits including high cognitive ability, a tertiary degree in STEM subjects, and a recent migrant background largely explain occupational sorting. Of these, only higher education, prior AI experience, and a science degree set them apart within occupation. I then use earnings as a window onto unobservable differences: AI workers earn approximately 5% more than their peers, entirely explained by firm-level wages. However, AI workers with a doctorate degree stand out sharply in both traits and earnings, indicating that AI workers split into segments that differ by the complexity of their skills and tasks. Taken together, these results point to two distinct policy levers: the supply of average AI workers, termed AI integrators, can be expanded via STEM education participation, while the elite AI developers are supplied by researchers moving to the private sector.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Wage premium; Labor demand; Skills; Technology diffusion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 J24 M20 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 68 pages
Date: 2026-10-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ain, nep-bec and nep-edu
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