{"slug": "the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide", "title": "The AI job map reveals a knowledge-work divide", "summary": "Indeed's new metric shows U.S. metros centered on tech and knowledge work face the highest AI exposure, with San Jose, CA scoring 59, Seattle, WA 57, Washington, DC 54, San Francisco, CA 53, and Austin, TX 52, against a national average of 44. The findings, based on Indeed Hiring Lab's 2025 AI at Work Report and GenAI Skill Transformation Index, indicate that physical-work metros are less exposed, but economist An Nguyen notes high exposure signals transformation, not replacement.", "body_md": "cross the country, workers are watching AI-powered automation creep into their industries and wondering if and when their jobs could be in danger. But where you live may determine how much you have to fear.\n\nIndeed developed a metric that measures how exposed each metro's job composition is to AI by combining the jobs each metro advertises with the AI exposure of those skills, using data from both the Indeed Hiring Lab's 2025 AI at Work Report and its GenAI Skill Transformation Index. The findings, unsurprisingly, showed that metros built around tech and knowledge work are the most vulnerable.\n\nAcross US metro areas, the average exposure score was 44, with a range of 40 to 60. The five most-exposed metros are driven by software and data work:\n\n- San Jose, CA: 59\n- Seattle, WA: 57\n- Washington, DC: 54\n- San Francisco, CA: 53\n- Austin, TX: 52\n\nOn the other hand, metros whose economies lean into hands-on work were less exposed. This supports the same conclusion drawn by many job reports and experts alike: labor that relies on physical work is the safest type of job in the AI era.\n\nAs we covered last week at The Deep View, this is already influencing the next generation of the labor force, with [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/02/24/how-teens-use-and-view-ai/?_gl=1*61gess*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjwqJXUBhBNEiwA8BgG7gTMCEobligsjD8SwrERDLx0Z9BDizZd5m4fB7xX6QEnAA9YfrDZbRoCaf8QAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAA-ddO9GXLbGpSKmN0ZAP2DVKSdbm2#in-their-own-words) finding that, for the first time, a majority of adults under 30 (55%) say they’re more concerned than excited about AI, and other [research](https://news.linkedin.com/2026/2026-Davos-Press-Release) showing that Gen Z is more open to careers in trades.\n\nBecause the Indeed report findings were based on data examining how AI could change the way certain skills are performed, it is important to note that the jobs most exposed don't necessarily equate to the jobs that will be replaced by AI, but rather to those with the highest potential to be transformed by AI. How that exposure translates into job loss depends entirely on how the employer chooses to adopt the technology.\n\nWith that in mind, An Nguyen, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, has advice:\n\n\"For job seekers, it can be a starting point for which skills to build. A high exposure score means more of the work could be reshaped, or augmented, by AI, not that the job will go away,\" Nguyen told The Deep View. \"In other words, exposure is two-sided: it flags where the work is likely to change and where adapting early pays off.\"\n\n## Our Deeper *View*\n\nKeeping in mind the metric this report measures, which is skill exposure to the possibility of AI transformation, the key point here is that it is just looking at how well AI can do individual tasks, for example, coding or writing. This report doesn't measure the human element in how those tasks are applied in the workplace, such as how they are synthesized through real-world experiences that cannot be easily replicated by a chatbot, including leadership, critical thinking, and reasoning. If anything, to me, a lot of this data is also reinforcing one thing: the importance of developing human skills that AI cannot replicate.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide", "canonical_source": "https://www.thedeepview.com/articles/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide", "published_at": "2026-08-24 22:59:08+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-24 23:44:03.752866+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Indeed", "Indeed Hiring Lab", "An Nguyen", "Pew Research Center", "San Jose", "Seattle", "Washington, DC", "San Francisco"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-job-map-reveals-a-knowledge-work-divide.jsonld"}}