Apollo finds AI is hitting paychecks rather than payrolls

An analysis conducted by Apollo examined 321 occupations and found that wages in jobs highly exposed to AI grew 6.7% more slowly after 2023 than wages in jobs with low exposure to AI. The analysis found a 10.7% gap in the bottom wage quartile and no significant effect in the top quartile. Apollo's chief economist, Torsten Slok, said the employment effect so far is insignificant and the visible damage is to pay.

The analysis compared wage growth between occupations with high and low exposure to AI over the period after 2023. The 10.7% gap refers to the difference in wage growth experienced by the bottom wage quartile relative to low-exposure work. The top quartile showed no significant difference, according to the analysis. Slok described the employment effect as insignificant, indicating that the main measurable impact so far has been on wages rather than on the number of jobs. He said the visible damage is to pay.

The findings suggest that AI's economic effects may be appearing in paychecks before payrolls. The analysis adds to ongoing research into how AI affects workers, indicating that wage dynamics could be an early signal of labour-market change. According to the article, the report did not identify specific occupations or an exact timeframe beyond the period after 2023.