# Credit Analysts

US SOC code 13-2041. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/13-2041

Also called: Commercial credit analyst, Corporate credit analyst, Senior credit analyst, Consumer credit analyst, Credit underwriter.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **64,390** US credit analysts, with median pay of **$83,510** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **74,850**, in May 2017. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://eh.net/encyclopedia/us-banking-history-civil-war-to-world-war-ii/) of **12,000** from 1910, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for credit analysts: Machine-learning underwriting platforms, 2015 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 4.3% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-2041&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **55.6%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Credit Analysts employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1841
- Latest US employment: 64,390 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $83,510 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: -4.3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [27]

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1910 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., EH.net Encyclopedia [1] |
| 1920 | 25,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., ValuSource [2] |
| 1950 | 50,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [3] |
| 1955 | n/a | $4,800 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [7] |
| 1990 | 82,000 (estimate) | $32,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS (employment) [4]; Est., BLS (pay) [8] |
| 2000 | 63,420 | $40,180 | BLS OEWS 2000 [5] |
| 2003 | 68,910 | $45,020 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [6] |
| 2004 | 67,100 | $47,260 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [6] |
| 2005 | 61,500 | $50,370 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [6] |
| 2006 | 66,690 | $52,350 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [6] |
| 2007 | 70,890 | $54,580 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [6] |
| 2008 | 74,400 | $55,250 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [6] |
| 2009 | 67,950 | $57,470 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [6] |
| 2010 | 62,680 | $58,850 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 59,140 | $60,730 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 61,240 | $61,080 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 66,490 | $64,030 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 69,390 | $67,020 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 70,840 | $69,680 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 72,930 | $69,930 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 74,850 | $71,290 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 74,820 | $71,520 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 73,930 | $73,650 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 72,090 | $74,970 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 68,770 | $77,440 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 71,960 | $78,850 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 73,200 | $79,420 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 67,370 | $80,970 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 64,390 | $83,510 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (94)

### Employment series

1. [EH.net Encyclopedia — "US Banking History, Civil War to World War II": Table 1 shows 7,145 national + 13,257 state banks in 1910 (approx. 22,000 total), used to derive credit staff estimate](https://eh.net/encyclopedia/us-banking-history-civil-war-to-world-war-ii/), Economic History Association / EH.net
2. [ValuSource — "RMA: A Century of Banking Data" (Robert Morris Associates founding 1914, Annual Statement Studies 1925)](https://www.valusource.com/rma-a-century-of-banking-data/), ValuSource / Risk Management Association history
3. [IPUMS USA — Occupation and Industry Codes and Documentation (1950 Census OCC classification, "Bank Officers and Financial Managers" category)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
4. [BLS — Occupational Projections and Training Data, 1990-2005 (historical occupational employment estimates, banking and finance)](https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/occupational-projections-and-training-data.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

7. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959 (BLS banking and finance wage survey references)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
8. [BLS — Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (banking and finance sector, 1990 average weekly earnings)](https://www.bls.gov/ces/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

12. [Harvard Business School Baker Library — "Buy Now, Pay Later: The Mercantile Agency" (Lewis Tappan 1841 founding, R. G. Dun ledgers)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/credit/credit3b.html), Harvard Business School Baker Library
13. [Amistad Research Center — "The Mercantile Agency: A Curious Relationship of Credit Reporting and Abolitionism" (Tappan founding, correspondent network)](https://amistadresearchcenter.org/blog/the-mercantile-agency-a-curious-relationship-of-credit-reporting-and-abolitionism), Amistad Research Center
14. [ValuSource — "RMA: A Century of Banking Data" (Alexander Wall 1919 benchmarks, Annual Statement Studies 1925, Robert Morris Associates founding)](https://www.valusource.com/rma-a-century-of-banking-data/), ValuSource / Risk Management Association history
15. [Risk Management Association — About Us (Robert Morris Associates founding 1914, professional mission history)](https://www.prosightfa.org/about-us/), Risk Management Association
16. [The Credit People — "Was the FICO (Fair Isaac) Score First Introduced in 1989?" (Fair Isaac Corporation founding 1956, consumer credit scoring history)](https://www.thecreditpeople.com/bureaus/was-the-fico-fair-isaac-score-first-introduced-in-1989), The Credit People
17. [Legacy in Motion — "The Invisible Hand of Credit: The Story of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO)" (1956 founding, 1989 nationwide rollout)](https://legacyinmotion.substack.com/p/fico), Legacy in Motion
18. [American Express Credit Intel — "When Did Credit Scores Begin?" (FICO nationwide 1989, Fannie/Freddie adoption 1995)](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/credit-cards/credit-intel/when-did-credit-scores-begin/), American Express
19. [CNBC Select — "When did credit scores start? A brief look at the long history behind credit reporting"](https://www.cnbc.com/select/when-did-credit-scores-start/), CNBC
20. [NBC News — "Analysts see 200,000 banking industry layoffs" (financial crisis bank job losses 2008)](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23904759), NBC News
21. [Oliver Wyman — "This Is How Generative AI Is Redefining Financial Assessment" (historical credit analysis workflow context)](https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2025/oct/how-generative-ai-redefines-credit-risk-assessment.html), Oliver Wyman
22. [Zest AI — Machine Learning Credit Underwriting for Financial Institutions (2025)](https://www.zest.ai/industry/credit-unions/), Zest AI
23. [Upstart — AI Lending Platform: Beyond FICO for Personal and Auto Loans (2025)](https://www.upstart.com/lenders), Upstart
24. [Moody's Analytics — CreditLens AI: Automated Financial Statement Spreading (2025)](https://www.moodysanalytics.com/product-list/creditlens), Moody's Analytics
25. [McKinsey — "Banking on gen AI in the credit business: The route to value creation" (2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/banking-on-gen-ai-in-the-credit-business-the-route-to-value-creation), McKinsey and Company
26. [Oliver Wyman — "Transform Your Credit Risk Strategy With This AI-Driven Tool" (Credit Risk Assistant, 30-40% report creation reduction)](https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2025/mar/credit-risk-assistant-ai-driven-solution.html), Oliver Wyman

### Forecasts and exposure studies

27. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 13-2041 Credit analysts (2025: 64.7 thousand; 2035: 61.9 thousand; -4.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-2041&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
28. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 13-2041.00, human-rated β 0.556)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

29. [Amistad Research Center — "The Mercantile Agency: A Curious Relationship of Credit Reporting and Abolitionism"](https://amistadresearchcenter.org/blog/the-mercantile-agency-a-curious-relationship-of-credit-reporting-and-abolitionism), Amistad Research Center
30. [Time — "Your Credit Score's Long History, From Espionage to Algorithms" (Bradstreet 1857 printed reference book)](https://time.com/3961676/history-credit-scores/), Time
31. [ValuSource — "RMA: A Century of Banking Data" (Robert Morris Associates founding 1914)](https://www.valusource.com/rma-a-century-of-banking-data/), ValuSource / Risk Management Association history
32. [Harvard Business School Baker Library — "Buy Now, Pay Later: The Mercantile Agency" (R. G. Dun and Bradstreet 1933 merger)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/credit/credit3b.html), Harvard Business School Baker Library
33. [Security Analysis (1934) — Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, Columbia Business School (via Amazon archive reference)](https://www.amazon.com/Security-Analysis-Classic-Benjamin-Graham/dp/0070244960), Columbia Business School / Graham and Dodd
34. [Legacy in Motion — "The Invisible Hand of Credit: The Story of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO)"](https://legacyinmotion.substack.com/p/fico), Legacy in Motion
35. [American Express Credit Intel — "When Did Credit Scores Begin?" (FICO 1989 commercial launch, Fannie/Freddie 1995 adoption)](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/credit-cards/credit-intel/when-did-credit-scores-begin/), American Express
36. [NBC News — "Analysts see 200,000 banking industry layoffs" (2008 financial crisis job losses)](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23904759), NBC News
37. [Moody's Analytics — CECL and IFRS 9 Credit Loss Modeling Solutions (2025)](https://www.moodysanalytics.com/product-list/cecl), Moody's Analytics

### Predecessors & successors

38. [Harvard Business School Baker Library — "Buy Now, Pay Later: The Mercantile Agency" (credit correspondent network 1841-1933)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/credit/credit3b.html), Harvard Business School Baker Library
39. [Risk Management Association — About Us (Robert Morris Associates founded 1914 by bank lending officers)](https://www.prosightfa.org/about-us/), Risk Management Association
40. [O\*NET 13-2072.00 — Loan Officers (career path from credit analysis)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2072.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Credit Analysts (13-2041.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2041.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Credit Analysts (2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/credit-analysts.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Oliver Wyman — AI in Credit Risk Management (2025)](https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2025/oct/how-generative-ai-redefines-credit-risk-assessment.html), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Citigroup — AI in Finance: Bot, Bank & Beyond (2024)](https://www.pymnts.com/personnel/2024/citi-ai-will-impact-finance-sector-job-market-the-most/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Training The Street — State of AI in Finance: 2025 Global Outlook](https://trainingthestreet.com/the-state-of-ai-in-finance-2025-global-outlook/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [LinkedIn Skills on the Rise 2026 — AI skills carry 56% wage premium](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/24/the-fastest-growing-skills-in-the-us-according-to-linkedin-theyre-career-currency.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Moody's Analytics — CreditLens AI: Automated Financial Statement Spreading (2025)](https://www.moodysanalytics.com/product-list/creditlens), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Zest AI — Machine Learning Credit Underwriting for Financial Institutions (2025)](https://www.zest.ai/industry/credit-unions/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Upstart — AI Lending Platform: Beyond FICO for Personal and Auto Loans (2025)](https://www.upstart.com/lenders), accessed 2026-05-24
- [American Banker — AI in Commercial Lending: 2025 Outlook](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/huntington-live-oak-to-invest-in-deploy-gen-ai-based-lending), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.