Childcare Workers
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.
518,910 people do this job in the US. $34,980 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 17%
- 0%
- 83%
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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 12%. Today's estimate: 14%.
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 . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.Done daily by most who do it. | 29% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Observe and monitor children's play activities.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 33 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Organize and participate in recreational activities and outings, such as games and field trips.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Create developmentally appropriate lesson plans.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain a safe play environment.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform general administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, editing internal paperwork, and making phone calls.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Regulate children's rest periods.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 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.
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education13% now, 14% by 2028
- Nannies12% now, 12% by 2028
- Personal Care Aides17% now, 17% by 2028
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education8% now, 12% by 2028
- Home Health Aides14% now, 14% by 2028
- Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education6% now, 6% 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).