Industry group, 2382
Building Equipment Contractors
2,581,300 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $72,980 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Estimate.
a year: 945 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 28%
- 11%
- 61%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 14% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 22% within reach now and 37% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 15%. Today's estimate: 18%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. The 40 largest jobs hold 91% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 340,140 | 16% | 115 million | $63K |
| Electricians | 560,290 | 9% | 106 million | $62K |
| Office Clerks, General | 89,310 | 54% | 101 million | $47K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | 148,850 | 27% | 83 million | $93K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 37,010 | 78% | 60 million | $55K |
| Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers | 305,330 | 7% | 43 million | $60K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 43,800 | 43% | 39 million | $47K |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 42,090 | 43% | 38 million | $78K |
| Project Management Specialists | 54,210 | 33% | 37 million | $100K |
| General and Operations Managers | 75,370 | 23% | 36 million | $111K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 21,580 | 64% | 29 million | $47K |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | 14,490 | 80% | 24 million | $48K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 198 smaller jobs (233,300 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 99% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Lay out full scale drawings of pipe systems, supports, or related equipment, according to blueprints.Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters88 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan layout and installation of electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures, based on job specifications and local codes.Electricians42 million hours80% of the task within reach
- Prepare sketches or follow blueprints to determine the location of wiring or equipment and to ensure conformance to building and safety codes.Electricians41 million hours60% of the task within reach
- Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs.First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers35 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan pipe system layout, installation, or repair, according to specifications.Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters30 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain current electrician's license or identification card to meet governmental regulations.Electricians27 million hours50% of the task within reach
- Study blueprints, design specifications, or manufacturers' recommendations to ascertain the configuration of heating or cooling equipment components and to ensure the proper installation of components.Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers25 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform business management duties, such as maintaining records or files, preparing reports, or ordering supplies or equipment.Electricians24 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.Cost Estimators23 million hours96% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General22 million hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have.
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works