NBER Paper: 19% of Workers Retroactively Edit Profiles, AI Skills Surge

steverathje2 · x · 2026-08-06

A new NBER working paper reveals that professional histories on platforms like LinkedIn are not fixed snapshots. The research indicates that 19.7% of established U.S. users retroactively edit the titles or descriptions of past jobs.

These 'time-travel' edits reflect shifting worker beliefs about in-demand skills. The data shows a sharp post-2022 increase in AI-related language, alongside a recent decline in remote work and DEI mentions. Furthermore, LLM-assisted writing markers surged after the release of ChatGPT, particularly among less-educated groups and graduates from lower-ranked MBA programs.

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