Nonmetro area, Illinois
South Illinois nonmetropolitan area
141,200 people work in this area, at mean pay of $58,210 a year (BLS, May 2025), in every industry. What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 75 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 31%
- 24%
- 45%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 22% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 128,808 people in jobs so far, 91% of the area's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 45 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 28 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 16 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 20%
- 11%
- 7%
- 18%
- 44%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 128,808 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft66,860 (52%)
- Judgment where errors are severe42,342 (33%)
- The conversations39,482 (31%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself36,699 (28%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts27,639 (21%)
- Signing off under your license16,533 (13%)
- Running AI inside the business systems13,480 (10%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization6,680 (5%)
- Handling protected records730 (1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this area's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 18%. Today's estimate: 27%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 52% of the working time of the people in this area as physical work. For 37% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 25% in a purpose-built cell, 11% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.50 of 3.
- Not physical 48%
- No robot shown 15%
- In a purpose-built cell 25%
- In a structured facility 11%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 54% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 2,700 | 59% | 3.3 million | $37K |
| Office Clerks, General | 2,670 | 56% | 3.1 million | $42K |
| Registered Nurses | 3,860 | 37% | 3 million | $80K |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,130 | 45% | 2.9 million | $82K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,320 | 88% | 2.4 million | $46K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,340 | 64% | 1.8 million | $39K |
| Cashiers | 4,180 | 19% | 1.6 million | $31K |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,930 | 23% | 1.4 million | $33K |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 1,930 | 35% | 1.4 million | $60K |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 3,200 | 19% | 1.3 million | $37K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 1,190 | 48% | 1.2 million | $38K |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | 930 | 60% | 1.2 million | $37K |
People: BLS counts for this area, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this area, else its mean, else the national median. 357 smaller jobs (61,790 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 94% of the area's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole area, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General668,765 hours100% of the task within reach
- Coordinate conferences, meetings, or special events, such as luncheons or graduation ceremonies.Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive660,532 hours60% of the task within reach
- Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals.Registered Nurses647,057 hours60% of the task within reach
- Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions.Cashiers614,607 hours100% of the task within reach
- Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive539,304 hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.Registered Nurses442,708 hours100% of the task within reach
- Compile and maintain non-monetary reports and records.Cashiers437,937 hours100% of the task within reach
- Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive436,028 hours70% of the task within reach
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks429,275 hours100% of the task within reach
- Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.General and Operations Managers400,285 hours40% of the task within reach
The regional report on South Illinois nonmetropolitan area
This page lists the largest jobs. The scan reads the whole workforce: every occupation BLS publishes here that the site has task data for, 94% of the people, at their local headcount and pay. The preview is free. The full report ($249, or included in Pro) is the report for a workforce board, a college or an economic development team: every occupation and the tasks behind its hours, what handing the work over would take, what changes for the people in each job and what they would learn, with the workbook and the slides to cite. Dated, with the method. For workforce boards and colleges
See what it holds first: the full report for Worcester, MA, Excel and slides.
Other areas in Illinois
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN4,513,280 people30% now, 36% by 2028
- West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area169,470 people27% now, 30% by 2028
- Peoria, IL166,020 people30% now, 36% by 2028
- East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area143,050 people27% now, 30% by 2028
- Rockford, IL137,650 people27% now, 31% by 2028
- Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area126,860 people26% now, 30% by 2028
- Champaign-Urbana, IL105,500 people30% now, 35% by 2028
- Springfield, IL100,810 people33% now, 39% by 2028
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this area; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the area's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this area
- How much of the work in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 27% of the paid hours in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area are within reach of AI models now and 31% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (30% to 31% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (2,700 people, 59% of their time, about 3.3 million hours a year); Office Clerks, General (2,670 people, 56% of their time, about 3.1 million hours a year); and Registered Nurses (3,860 people, 37% of their time, about 3 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports (Office Clerks, General, about 668,765 hours a year); Coordinate conferences, meetings, or special events, such as luncheons or graduation ceremonies (Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, about 660,532 hours a year); and Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals (Registered Nurses, about 647,057 hours a year).
- What would people working in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area learn first?
- Among the 128,808 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (66,860 people); judgment where errors are severe (42,342 people); and the conversations (39,482 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 68% of their working time stays with people, 23% becomes checking a model's work and 8% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in South Illinois nonmetropolitan area (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The area's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 94% of its people, and 91% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.