Industry group, 8113
Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance
244,630 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $69,520 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: 100 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 31%
- 9%
- 60%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 16% 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, 17%. Today's estimate: 20%.
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 83% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | 53,790 | 15% | 17 million | $61K |
| Office Clerks, General | 7,540 | 54% | 8.5 million | $47K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 4,720 | 78% | 7.6 million | $49K |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 6,800 | 43% | 6.1 million | $76K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers | 10,580 | 27% | 5.9 million | $81K |
| General and Operations Managers | 11,720 | 23% | 5.6 million | $106K |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | 14,920 | 16% | 5.1 million | $56K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 3,700 | 43% | 3.3 million | $48K |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | 1,970 | 53% | 2.2 million | $47K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,480 | 64% | 2 million | $55K |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 2,570 | 36% | 1.9 million | $75K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 2,720 | 32% | 1.8 million | $78K |
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. 142 smaller jobs (40,200 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 98% 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.
- Analyze test results, machine error messages, or information obtained from operators to diagnose equipment problems.Industrial Machinery Mechanics9.8 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Develop or implement electronic maintenance programs or computer information management systems.First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers3.4 million hours96% of the task within reach
- Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications.Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel2.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Record parts or materials used and order or requisition new parts or materials, as necessary.Industrial Machinery Mechanics2.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Enter codes and instructions to program computer-controlled machinery.Industrial Machinery Mechanics2.4 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers2.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Study blueprints or manufacturers' manuals to determine correct installation or operation of machinery.Industrial Machinery Mechanics1.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General1.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Participate in budget preparation and administration, coordinating purchasing and documentation and monitoring departmental expenditures.First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers1.7 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