Industry group, 1133
Logging
41,620 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $56,690 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: 9.5 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 16%
- 4%
- 80%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 10% 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, 11%. Today's estimate: 12%.
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 14 largest jobs hold 95% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 8,040 | 14% | 2.3 million | $52K |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,550 | 54% | 1.8 million | $40K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,070 | 78% | 1.7 million | $51K |
| Logging Equipment Operators | 16,680 | 2% | 832,666 | $51K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | 2,420 | 16% | 790,278 | $72K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 770 | 43% | 682,283 | $39K |
| General and Operations Managers | 540 | 23% | 256,091 | $91K |
| Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines | 1,150 | 5% | 110,032 | $58K |
| Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators | 500 | 9% | 92,560 | $60K |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 460 | 9% | 86,112 | $34K |
| Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood | 430 | 8% | 70,658 | $48K |
| Foresters | 650 | 1% | 17,576 | $80K |
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. 31 smaller jobs (1,810 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 93% 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.
- Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers684,815 hours100% of the task within reach
- Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables.Logging Equipment Operators562,743 hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform both supervisory and management functions, such as accounting, marketing, and personnel work.First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers493,146 hours100% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General388,234 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan or adjust routes based on changing conditions, using computer equipment, global positioning systems (GPS) equipment, or other navigation devices, to minimize fuel consumption and carbon emissions.Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers354,030 hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks347,973 hours100% of the task within reach
- Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers302,523 hours100% of the task within reach
- Fill out required job or shift report forms.Logging Equipment Operators286,923 hours100% of the task within reach
- Read and interpret maps to determine vehicle routes.Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers275,264 hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems, either manually or using a computer.Office Clerks, General216,291 hours80% 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.
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