Mixed signals

Packer

68.2K UK workers · typical pay £25,500 · entry route GCSEs grades 4-9 (A*-C). Projected headcount change: -1% to 2035.

How AI is actually used here · measured · Anthropic Economic Index

Thin signal. Only 32% of the Claude usage mapped to this job is actual work. The rest is personal or study use of the same skills. Read the figures below as indicative, not precise.

17%

Augmentation

AI mostly does the task

7.3×

Time compression

~0.7h → ~6min

2.81/5

AI autonomy

how hands-off it runs

83%

Automation

of measured usage

How the collaboration splits · the six measured modes

directive 77.9%task iteration 15.7%feedback loop 3.8%unclassified 1.5%validation 1%learning 0%

What people make with AI here

explanation / answer32%config / infra18%math / calculation10%

Real Claude.ai usage mapped to this occupation's SOC group, Apr+May 2026, CC-BY. Claude users only; task times model-estimated; augment/automate is how AI is used, not a count of jobs lost. Method →

Facts · ONS + NCS

UK workers (2024)

68.2K

Median pay

£25.5K

Our scored call · a labelled hypothesis, not a measurement

AI exposure

3 / 10

Elasticity

3.5 / 10

2035 outlook

-1%

Exposure · 3/10

Why AI can do the work

While the role involves routine physical tasks that are susceptible to industrial robotics and automation, it is less exposed to Generative AI which targets digital knowledge work. The requirement for manual dexterity, physical presence in warehouses, and operating machinery like forklifts provides a buffer against immediate AI-driven displacement.

Elasticity · 3.5/10

Gated by saturated

Whether demand expands when it gets cheaper

Output is primarily gated by the physical volume of goods produced and sold, which does not scale linearly with the cost of packing.

Trajectory to 2035