Overview

Introduction

The Occupation Automation Index API provides access to data measuring the automation risk of occupations across the United States and the United Kingdom. It helps users assess which jobs are most susceptible to automation and technological disruption, supporting workforce planning, economic forecasting, and policy analysis related to the future of work.

Lightcast’s Automation Index uses methodologies tailored to each nation’s occupational data and labor characteristics.

In the U.S., automation risk is analyzed based on job task content, derived from O*NET work activities. This data is combined with Frey and Osborne’s research on automation probabilities to determine which job tasks are more vulnerable or resilient to automation. The model also accounts for industry concentration (to identify sectors facing greater disruption) and skill adjacency (to understand whether similar occupations also face high risk).

This is a 100-based index, where scores above 100 indicate above-average automation risk, and scores below 100 indicate below-average automation risk.

In the U.K., the index estimates the proportion of working time spent performing tasks considered at high risk of automation over the next 20–30 years. This methodology uses U.S. O*NET task frequencies, mapped to UK SOC occupations, and aligned with Frey and Osborne’s “Probability of Computerisation.” Each of the 38 task categories is classified as high, medium, or low risk, representing the share of working time that could be disrupted by automation—from 0% (no working time at risk) to 100% (all working time at risk).

Note: By default, all clients are allowed a maximum of 10 requests per second. Contact us if you require higher limits.

API Endpoint

There are multiple endpoints within this category. Refer to individual API docs under the Occupation Automation Index API section.

Request Headers

(*) Indicates the action to be required

All requests must include the following headers:

Authentication

All endpoints in this category require an OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token for authentication. Tokens are granted through Lightcast’s Authentication API and are valid for 1 hour.

To access the Occupation Automation Index API, the token must include the following scope:

• automation-index (for expanded access)

Sample Request

curl --request POST \
  --url https://auth.emsicloud.com/connect/token \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
  --data client_id=CLIENT_ID \
  --data client_secret=CLIENT_SECRET \
  --data grant_type=client_credentials \
  --data scope=automation-index

Request Parameters

Sample Response

{
  "access_token": "<ACCESS_TOKEN>",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "token_type": "Bearer"
}

Note that the Tokens expire after 3600 seconds. To maintain uninterrupted access, refresh the token before it expires. To know more about this, refer to the Authentication guide.

Response Parameters

Status Code Summary