Subsector, 311
Food Manufacturing
1,778,490 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $52,640 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. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 623 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 20%
- 8%
- 71%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 15% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 1,589,198 people in jobs so far, 89% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 390 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 207 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 109 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 14%
- 7%
- 4%
- 5%
- 70%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 1,589,198 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft1,274,557 (80%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself528,021 (33%)
- Judgment where errors are severe377,345 (24%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts338,799 (21%)
- The conversations138,253 (9%)
- Signing off under your license52,150 (3%)
- Running AI inside the business systems46,460 (3%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization18,240 (1%)
- Handling protected records170 (under 1%)
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, 11%. 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.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 74% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 66% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 47% in a purpose-built cell, 18% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.85 of 3.
- Not physical 26%
- No robot shown 8%
- In a purpose-built cell 47%
- In a structured facility 18%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 85% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 71,790 | 48% | 71 million | $69K |
| Food Batchmakers | 144,690 | 15% | 45 million | $44K |
| Bakers | 81,880 | 19% | 32 million | $37K |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | 27,420 | 53% | 30 million | $46K |
| Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers | 46,600 | 27% | 26 million | $46K |
| Industrial Production Managers | 19,440 | 51% | 21 million | $116K |
| General and Operations Managers | 21,670 | 45% | 20 million | $114K |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 12,800 | 72% | 19 million | $59K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 9,940 | 88% | 18 million | $50K |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 84,930 | 9% | 16 million | $42K |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 15,780 | 46% | 15 million | $78K |
| Office Clerks, General | 12,140 | 56% | 14 million | $45K |
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. 246 smaller jobs (251,810 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 96% 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.
- Formulate or modify recipes for specific kinds of food products.Food Batchmakers25 million hours60% of the task within reach
- Develop new recipes for baked goods.Bakers23 million hours40% of the task within reach
- Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers17 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan and develop new products and production processes.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers16 million hours70% of the task within reach
- Record numbers of units handled or moved, using daily production sheets or work tickets.Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand12 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Read and analyze charts, work orders, production schedules, and other records and reports to determine production requirements and to evaluate current production estimates and outputs.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers11 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle.Food Batchmakers10 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records.Packers and Packagers, Hand9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Determine standards, budgets, production goals, and rates, based on company policies, equipment and labor availability, and workloads.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers8.5 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Determine mixing sequences, based on knowledge of temperature effects and of the solubility of specific ingredients.Food Batchmakers8.3 million hours70% 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. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Inside this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- Animal Slaughtering and Processing557,460 people12% now, 14% by 2028
- Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing350,710 people19% now, 21% by 2028
- Other Food Manufacturing274,060 people20% now, 24% by 2028
- Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing172,340 people19% now, 22% by 2028
- Dairy Product Manufacturing167,480 people20% now, 23% by 2028
- Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing83,910 people21% now, 25% by 2028
- Animal Food Manufacturing76,620 people24% now, 27% by 2028
- Grain and Oilseed Milling66,880 people22% now, 27% by 2028
- Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging29,030 people17% now, 19% by 2028
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
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Food Manufacturing is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 18% of the paid hours in Food Manufacturing are within reach of AI models now and 20% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Food Manufacturing carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers (71,790 people, 48% of their time, about 71 million hours a year); Food Batchmakers (144,690 people, 15% of their time, about 45 million hours a year); and Bakers (81,880 people, 19% of their time, about 32 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Food Manufacturing carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Formulate or modify recipes for specific kinds of food products (Food Batchmakers, about 25 million hours a year); Develop new recipes for baked goods (Bakers, about 23 million hours a year); and Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals (First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers, about 17 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Food Manufacturing learn first?
- Among the 1,589,198 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (1,274,557 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (528,021 people); and judgment where errors are severe (377,345 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 79% of their working time stays with people, 16% becomes checking a model's work and 5% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Food Manufacturing (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 96% of its people, and 89% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.