Barbers
Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves.
15,000 people do this job in the US. $38,210 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 28%
- 2%
- 70%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 8%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 21%. Today's estimate: 23%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 21% | 25 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform clerical and administrative duties such as keeping records, paying bills, and hiring and supervising personnel.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Apply lather and shave beards or neck and temple hair contours, using razors.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 8% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Curl, color, or straighten hair, using special chemical solutions and equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min33 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean work stations and sweep floors.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Shape and trim beards and moustaches, using scissors.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 13 min7 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Stay informed of the latest styles and hair care techniques.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 4 min3 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Shampoo hair.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Record services provided on cashiers' tickets or receive payment from customers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 4 min2 min to 7 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Provide face, neck, and scalp massages.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).