AI Job Risk in China

Average generative-AI exposure of the workforce

0.220

ILO score (0–1). Rank 19 of 20 countries.

People in employment, 2025

737,575,000

ILO modelled estimate

What people in China work as

Share of employment in each ISCO-08 major occupation group, and the group's average generative-AI exposure (ILO score, 0–1). The country figure above is the employment-weighted average of the exposure column.

Occupation group	Share of employment	Exposure (ILO, 0–1)
Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	50.9%	0.15
Craft and related trades workers	12.7%	0.17
Professionals	11.1%	0.39
Service and sales workers	9.8%	0.26
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers	6.8%	0.20
Clerical support workers	4.6%	0.53
Technicians and associate professionals	2.1%	0.35
Managers	2.0%	0.36

Method: each country's employment by ISCO-08 major occupation group (ILOSTAT, ILO modelled estimates) multiplied by the average ILO exposure score of the occupations in that group (ILO Working Paper 140), then added up. The ILO publishes skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations as one group and leaves out the armed forces. The figure uses the ILO's 0–1 scale, not the 0–100 occupation index used elsewhere on this site, and it treats an occupation as equally exposed in every country.

How to read this page in practice

The notes below explain how to read the country figure, what kind of occupation mix raises or lowers it, and what this comparison can and cannot tell you.

How to Read This Country

China is easiest to read by separating physical, distributed labor, factory-floor assembly, warehouse and delivery logistics, construction, from the office and platform-support layer sitting on top of it. Domestic AI adoption is aggressive across e-commerce customer service, content moderation, financial back offices, and administrative functions inside both state-owned enterprises and private tech firms. That pressure is real but concentrated; it moves much more slowly through last-mile delivery, skilled factory-line work, and construction, where China's enormous migrant and informal workforce still performs tasks that are cheap, flexible, and physically grounded.

What drives the figure

China's employment base spans electronics and heavy manufacturing, a vast logistics and e-commerce delivery network, construction, and a rapidly digitizing services and finance sector concentrated in major cities. AI pressure is heaviest in platform-company back offices, customer support, financial processing, translation, and the standardized reporting demanded by both corporate and government bureaucracy, where domestic large language models are being deployed at scale. It is far lighter across delivery riders, factory-line operators, construction crews, and the broader informal and migrant-labor economy, where low labor costs, physical requirements, and localized coordination keep automation economically or practically unattractive for now.

What Holds Up Better

The most durable work in China sits in physical logistics, skilled manufacturing supervision, and construction, sectors that employ enormous numbers of migrant workers and depend on flexible, low-cost physical labor that remains cheaper and more adaptable than automation in many contexts. Roles that manage exceptions on fast-scaling platforms, quality inspection on production lines, and coordination between suppliers, factories, and delivery networks also hold value because they require judgment about fast-changing, real-world conditions that centralized systems still struggle to fully standardize.

What This Page Does Not Claim

A national figure cannot reconcile China's uneven development: coastal megacities with mature digital infrastructure sit alongside inland regions where manual and informal labor still dominate. State industrial policy and rapid domestic AI rollout can also shift adoption speed faster than market signals alone would suggest. Read the score together with the rural-urban divide, the size of the migrant labor force, and the gap between platform-company white-collar work and physical logistics or manufacturing labor.

Jobs Most At Risk from AI

This table is a current snapshot of the jobs that appear on the higher-risk side within this country profile. It is useful as a directional comparison, not as a permanent national ranking. Both lists only include jobs in the three occupation groups that employ the most people in China, ordered by exposure index.

Rank	Job	Occupation group	Generative-AI exposure
1	Interpreter	Professionals	98
2	Translator	Professionals	98
3	Web Developer	Professionals	97
4	Technical Writer	Professionals	96
5	Programmer	Professionals	96
6	Content Writer	Professionals	95
7	Copywriter	Professionals	95
8	Data Analyst	Professionals	95
9	Data Scientist	Professionals	95
10	Software Tester	Professionals	95
11	Advertising Specialist	Professionals	94
12	Market Research Analyst	Professionals	94
13	Marketing Specialist	Professionals	94
14	SEO Specialist	Professionals	94
15	Social Media Manager	Professionals	94
16	Editor	Professionals	94
17	Journalist	Professionals	93
18	Database Administrator	Professionals	92
19	Economist	Professionals	92
20	Financial Analyst	Professionals	91

Jobs Safest from AI

This table shows the jobs that currently appear on the lower-risk side within this country profile. Read it as a structural comparison of work, not as a guarantee that these roles will stay unchanged.

Rank	Job	Occupation group	Generative-AI exposure
1	Housekeeper	Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	13
2	Fisherman	Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	17
3	Welder	Craft and related trades workers	18
4	Construction Worker	Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	19
5	Carpenter	Craft and related trades workers	19
6	Elevator Technician	Craft and related trades workers	22
7	Aircraft Mechanic	Craft and related trades workers	23
8	Baker	Craft and related trades workers	27
9	Renewable Energy Technician	Craft and related trades workers	27
10	Plumber	Craft and related trades workers	28
11	Automotive Technician	Craft and related trades workers	29
12	Farmer	Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	32
13	Dentist	Professionals	33
14	Warehouse Operator	Skilled agricultural workers and elementary occupations	34
15	Electrician	Craft and related trades workers	36
16	Mechanic	Craft and related trades workers	38
17	Surgeon	Professionals	39
18	HVAC Technician	Craft and related trades workers	41
19	Veterinarian	Professionals	47
20	Quality Assurance Specialist	Craft and related trades workers	47

Sources

Exposure index calculated by ai-job-risk.net from the datasets below (data as of October 15, 2026). US labour figures are from the BLS, unchanged.

The publishers did not prepare, review or endorse this site. Full citations, licences and method

Frequently asked questions

Q.Which jobs are most at risk from AI in China?

Most exposed: Interpreter, Translator, Web Developer. China's employment base spans electronics and heavy manufacturing, a vast logistics and e-commerce delivery network, construction, and a rapidly digitizing services and finance sector concentrated in major cities. AI pressure is heaviest in platform-company back offices, customer support, financial processing, translation, and the standardized reporting demanded by both corporate and government bureaucracy, where domestic large language models are being deployed at scale.

Q.Which jobs are safest from AI in China?

Least exposed: Housekeeper, Fisherman, Welder. The most durable work in China sits in physical logistics, skilled manufacturing supervision, and construction, sectors that employ enormous numbers of migrant workers and depend on flexible, low-cost physical labor that remains cheaper and more adaptable than automation in many contexts. Roles that manage exceptions on fast-scaling platforms, quality inspection on production lines, and coordination between suppliers, factories, and delivery networks also hold value because they require judgment about fast-changing, real-world conditions that centralized systems still struggle to fully standardize.

Q.How exposed is China to AI automation?

China is easiest to read by separating physical, distributed labor, factory-floor assembly, warehouse and delivery logistics, construction, from the office and platform-support layer sitting on top of it. Domestic AI adoption is aggressive across e-commerce customer service, content moderation, financial back offices, and administrative functions inside both state-owned enterprises and private tech firms. That pressure is real but concentrated; it moves much more slowly through last-mile delivery, skilled factory-line work, and construction, where China's enormous migrant and informal workforce still performs tasks that are cheap, flexible, and physically grounded.

Q.Does high exposure mean jobs will disappear in China?

A national figure cannot reconcile China's uneven development: coastal megacities with mature digital infrastructure sit alongside inland regions where manual and informal labor still dominate. State industrial policy and rapid domestic AI rollout can also shift adoption speed faster than market signals alone would suggest. Read the score together with the rural-urban divide, the size of the migrant labor force, and the gap between platform-company white-collar work and physical logistics or manufacturing labor.