Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
206,170 people do this job in the US. $57,020 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.
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 . 26 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.Done daily by most who do it. | 19% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Chip, scrape, and grind high spots, ridges, and rough projections to finish concrete, using pneumatic chisels, power grinders, or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Direct the casting of the concrete and supervise laborers who use shovels or special tools to spread it.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Fabricate concrete beams, columns, and panels.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Wet surface to prepare for bonding, fill holes and cracks with grout or slurry, and smooth, using trowel.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 42 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Cut metal division strips, and press them into terrazzo base so that top edges form desired design or pattern.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Produce rough concrete surface, using broom.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Polish surface, using polishing or surfacing machine.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 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.
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Construction Laborers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons12% now, 13% by 2028
- Segmental Pavers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters6% now, 6% by 2028
- Tile and Stone Setters4% now, 4% by 2028
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).