AI Job Atlas
AI & jobs · State in Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

State DE-NW Largest city: Essen
39%
of jobs here are estimated to be exposed to generative AI, above the national 39% (+0.5 pts).
MODEL7th of 16 regions3.6M exposed workers

Key numbers

PopulationWIKIDATA
17.9M
as of 2022
Share of national populationWIKIDATA
21.6%
1st largest of 16
People in workMODEL
9.1M
national total × population share
Highest-exposure jobsMODEL
8.3%
national 8.2%
Area
34.4K km²
520 people per km²
Settlement patternMODEL
Urban
44% live in major cities
Largest city
Essen
1.7M (metro)
Mapped towns & cities
9
Natural Earth places

AI use

ANTHROPIC

Claude.ai conversations, April–May 2026.

Usage intensityANTHROPIC
0.88×
usage share ÷ population share
Share of national useANTHROPIC
19.0%
21.6% of population
Work-relatedANTHROPIC
40%
national 40%
Automation-styleANTHROPIC
47%
national 46%
Augmentation 54%Automation 47%

Sector mix

MODEL

Estimated share of jobs by sector, against the national mix.

North Rhine-Westphalia Germany
Manufacturing 17.2%
Health & care 14.4%
Retail & wholesale 12.3%
Business services 12.3%
Public admin 7.6%
Education 6.8%
Construction 6.0%
Transport & logistics 4.9%
Other services 4.6%
ICT & software 4.5%
Hospitality 3.6%
Finance 3.5%
Utilities 1.6%
Agriculture 0.6%
Mining 0.1%

Exposed workers by sector

MODEL
Health & care 596K Business services 526K Retail & wholesale 441K Manufacturing 424K Public admin 371K Education 303K ICT & software 195K Finance 186K

Ranking in Germany

MODEL

By modelled AI exposure, out of 16 regions.

4Saarland 40% 5Hesse 40% 6Baden-Württemberg 40% 7North Rhine-Westphalia 39% 8Saxony 39% 9Bavaria 38% 10Schleswig-Holstein 38%
About these estimates. No source publishes AI exposure by region for every country. The model splits Germany's real ILO sector employment across regions using population (Wikidata) and density: denser, capital-city regions get more finance, ICT and professional jobs, and rural regions more farming. Totals match national figures. AI usage figures are measured, not modelled. Methodology

Other regions of Germany

All of Germany →