Healthcare Social Workers
Community and Social Service Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 21-1022.00
Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers. Provide patients with information and counseling, and make referrals for other services. May also provide case and care management or interventions designed to promote health, prevent disease, and address barriers to access to healthcare.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
High· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.092
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.28
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only17 rated tasks · 11 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (64.7%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.21-1022.00 | 0.014853.2 | 0.004138.8 |
Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in clients' status.21-1022.00 | 0.011340.6 | 0.002321.4 |
Conduct social research to advance knowledge in the social work field.21-1022.00 | 0.00176.1 | —0 |
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan. | —0 | 0.002624.3 |
Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary. | —0 | 0.001615.5 |
| Not observed on any surface — 11 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | ||
Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs. | —0 | —0 |
Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education. | —0 | —0 |
Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient. | —0 | —0 |
Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises. | —0 | —0 |
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records. | —0 | —0 |
Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy. | —0 | —0 |
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients. | —0 | —0 |
Develop or advise on social policy and assist in community development. | —0 | —0 |
Oversee Medicaid- and Medicare-related paperwork and recordkeeping in hospitals. | —0 | —0 |
Plan and conduct programs to combat social problems, prevent substance abuse, or improve community health and counseling services. | —0 | —0 |
Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility. | —0 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Oversee Medicaid- and Medicare-related paperwork and recordkeeping in hospitals.O*NET Task ID 270 | 1.0 |
Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.O*NET Task ID 258 | 0.5 |
Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.O*NET Task ID 260 | 0.5 |
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.O*NET Task ID 264 | 0.5 |
Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.O*NET Task ID 265 | 0.5 |
Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in clients' status.O*NET Task ID 266 | 0.5 |
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.O*NET Task ID 267 | 0.5 |
Develop or advise on social policy and assist in community development.O*NET Task ID 269 | 0.5 |
Conduct social research to advance knowledge in the social work field.O*NET Task ID 271 | 0.5 |
Plan and conduct programs to combat social problems, prevent substance abuse, or improve community health and counseling services.O*NET Task ID 272 | 0.5 |
Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility.O*NET Task ID 15227 | 0.5 |
Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary.O*NET Task ID 259 | 0.0 |
Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.O*NET Task ID 261 | 0.0 |
Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient.O*NET Task ID 262 | 0.0 |
Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.O*NET Task ID 263 | 0.0 |
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.O*NET Task ID 268 | 0.0 |
Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.O*NET Task ID 23910 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (17)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs. | Core |
| Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education. | Core |
| Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life. | Core |
| Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient. | Core |
| Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises. | Core |
| Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records. | Core |
| Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy. | Core |
| Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in clients' status. | Core |
| Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan. | Core |
| Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients. | Core |
| Develop or advise on social policy and assist in community development. | Core |
| Conduct social research to advance knowledge in the social work field. | Core |
| Plan and conduct programs to combat social problems, prevent substance abuse, or improve community health and counseling services. | Core |
| Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility. | Core |
| Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions. | Core |
| Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary. | Supplemental |
| Oversee Medicaid- and Medicare-related paperwork and recordkeeping in hospitals. | Supplemental |
0.00/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
None of this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks is classified as a physical task.
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 195K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 211K
- Change (2025–35)
- +8.5%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $67,880
- Typical education needed for entry
- Master's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25310 | 사회복지사 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2635Social Work and Counselling Professionals
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Social work and counselling professionals provide advice and guidance to individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations in response to social and personal difficulties. They assist clients to develop skills and access resources and support services needed to respond to issues arising from unemployment, poverty, disability, addiction, criminal and delinquent behaviour, and marital and other problems.
Tasks
- (a) interviewing clients individually, in families, or in groups, to assess their situation and problems and determine the types of services required;
- (b) analysing the client's situation and presenting alternative approaches to resolving problems;
- (c) compiling case records or reports for courts and other legal proceedings;
- (d) providing counselling, therapy and mediation services and facilitating group sessions to assist clients to develop skills and insights needed to deal with and resolve their social and personal problems;
- (e) planning and implementing programmes of assistance for clients including crisis intervention and referral to agencies that provide financial assistance, legal aid, housing, medical treatment and other services;
- (f) investigating cases of abuse or neglect and taking action to protect children and other at risk persons;
- (g) working with offenders during and after sentence, to help them to integrate into the community and to change attitudes and behaviour in order to reduce further offending;
- (h) providing advice to prison governors and to probation and parole review boards that helps determine whether, and under what conditions, an offender should be incarcerated, released from prison or undergo alternative correctional measures;
- (i) acting as advocates for client groups in the community and lobbying for solutions to problems affecting them;
- (j) developing prevention and intervention programmes to meet community needs;
- (k) maintaining contact with other social service agencies, educational institutions and health care providers involved with clients to provide information and obtain feedback on clients' overall situation and progress.
Example occupations
Addictions counsellor · Bereavement counsellor · Child and youth counsellor · District social welfare officer · Family counsellor · Marriage counsellor · Parole officer · Probation officer · Sexual assault counsellor · Social worker · Women’s welfare organizer
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- gerontology social workerESCO 2635.3.14This occupation is broader
Gerontology social workers provide assistance to elderly individuals and their families helping them to cope with their biopsychosocial needs. They help connecting the elderly with community resources by gathering information about the array of services available to them. Gerontology social workers assess their clients' needs, functional capacity and health problems and liaise with medical professionals when necessary.
- hospital social workerESCO 2635.3.16This occupation is broader
Hospital social workers provide counselling to patients and their families helping them to better cope with the illness, the emotions surrounding diagnosis, and with social and financial problems. They work in cooperation with doctors, nurses and other health professionals sensitising them on the emotional aspects of a patient. They act as link between patients and medical staff. Hospital social workers also support the patients and their families with the discharge from the hospital.
- palliative care social workerESCO 2635.3.20This occupation is broader
Palliative care social workers provide assistance and counselling to patients with a chronic or a terminal disease and their families with the practical arrangements. They arrange the required medical care for the patient and help the family to adjust to the diagnosis by providing support and attention to their emotional needs, helping them to understand their options.
- clinical social workerESCO 2635.3.3Overlapping, not the same
Clinical social workers provide therapy, counselling, and intervention services to clients. They treat clients with personal struggles, namely mental illness, addiction, and abuse, advocating for them and helping them gain access to the necessary resources. They also focus on the impact of medical and public health issues within social aspects.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| K1201 | Assistant social / Assistante sociale | This occupation is narrower |
| J1136 | Gérontologue | Related, not a match |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2824 | Profesionales del trabajo y la educación social | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 83124 | Berufe in der Sozialarbeit und Sozialpädagogik - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is narrower |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 169 | その他の社会福祉専門職業従事者 | This occupation is narrower |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources