Construction Laborers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 1% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 99% of the time, stays with people.
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.
1,096,780 people do this job in the US. $47,120 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people40 h
Construction Laborers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 40 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Read plans and instructions (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 1%
- 0%
- 0%
- 2%
- 97%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 1% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
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.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 27 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0044% to 0.0024% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0044% | 547 of 655 | 2 of 27 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0065% | 537 of 672 | 3 of 27 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0024% | 635 of 677 | 1 of 27 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 95% of this job's working time as physical work. For 85% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 68% in a purpose-built cell, 15% in a structured facility, 2% in any setting. 1.05 of 3, the 94th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 5%
- No robot shown 10%
- In a purpose-built cell 68%
- In a structured facility 15%
- In any setting 2%
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. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
98% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Dig trenches and compact earth, the hands-on work, 14%
- Install sewer and water pipes, the hands-on work, 11%
- Raze buildings and salvage materials, the hands-on work, 8%
- Grind, sand and polish surfaces, the hands-on work, 8%
- Tend pumps, compressors and generators, the hands-on work, 7%
- Break concrete with jackhammers, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
1% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Read plans and instructions, costly if wrong, 1.0%
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 97% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes.Digging by hand and with tampers, where a trench can cave in.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Autonomous Excavation System for Excavators (Kawasaki Heavy Industries) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Install sewer, water, or storm drain pipes, using pipe-laying machinery or laser guidance equipment.Laying pipe in the trench.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Raze buildings or salvage useful materials.Demolition by hand and machine.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Grind, scrape, sand, or polish surfaces, such as concrete, marble, terrazzo, or wood flooring, using abrasive tools or machines.Working abrasive tools.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Legend Robot Floor Grinding Robot (Shenzhen Legend Robot Technology Co., Ltd.) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.Running equipment on site.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Robofuel (SCOTT Automation) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Operate jackhammers or drills to break up concrete or pavement.Running a jackhammer or drill on the pavement.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Normet Xrock Autobreaker (breaker boom + autonomous module) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 2.1 h25 min to 4.2 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Position or dismantle forms for pouring concrete, using saws, hammers, nails, or bolts.Carpentry on site.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Elematic Shuttering Robot E9 (automatic shuttering station) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Spray materials, such as water, sand, steam, vinyl, paint, or stucco, through hoses to clean, coat, or seal surfaces.Working a hose or spray rig.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Lavo AI pressure washing robot (Lucid Bots) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Control traffic passing near, in, or around work zones.Standing at the road to direct drivers.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AFAD (Stop/Slow paddle and gate-arm types) (Various) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Provide assistance to craft workers, such as carpenters, plasterers, or masons.Hands-on help to carpenters and masons.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Randek ZeroLabor Robotic Sheathing System (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.Moving materials by hand and machine.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Robo-Carrier / Autonomous-ELV (Shimz Smart Site) (Shimizu Corporation) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Smooth or finish freshly poured cement or concrete, using floats, trowels, screeds, or powered cement finishing tools.Trowel and float work.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Vollert VARIO SMOOTH trowelling machine (precast pallet-circulation surface technology) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Hands-on 100% | 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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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.
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining10% now, 10% by 2028
- Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Pipelayers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons8% now, 8% 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).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Construction Laborers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 1% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 1% 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 tasks of Construction Laborers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Read plans and instructions (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Construction Laborers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Dig trenches and compact earth; Install sewer and water pipes; and Raze buildings and salvage materials. Together such tasks are about 98% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Construction Laborers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; judgment where errors are severe; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 98% of the working time stays with people, 1% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Construction Laborers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 3%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Construction Laborers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 95% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 85% of the working time, 2% in any setting. Its index is 1.05 of 3. One example: Dusty Robotics FieldPrint Platform (FieldPrinter 2) for "measure and mark layouts". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 27 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), 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. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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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.
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