Helpers--Production Workers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 3% 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 97% of the time, stays with people.
Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
165,700 people do this job in the US. $39,070 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 on1 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people39 h
Helpers--Production Workers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 39 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Record production information (about 1 h); Read gauges and record data (under an hour).
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.
- 0%
- 3%
- 0%
- 1%
- 95%
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 3% 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, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 4%. Today's estimate: 4%.
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 34 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0067% to 0.02% (released February and March 2025); 0.0055% to 0.0068% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0067% | 574 of 708 | 2 of 34 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.02% | 424 of 703 | 1 of 34 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0055% | 525 of 655 | 2 of 34 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0075% | 518 of 672 | 2 of 34 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0068% | 540 of 677 | 2 of 34 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 34 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 34 |
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 91% of this job's working time as physical work. For 91% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 58% in a purpose-built cell, 32% in a structured facility. 1.23 of 3, the 53rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 9%
- In a purpose-built cell 58%
- In a structured facility 32%
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
97% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Operate or assist on production machinery, the hands-on work, 10%
- Pack and store products, the hands-on work, 7%
- Sort products, the hands-on work, 6%
- Help production workers, the hands-on work, 6%
- Prepare raw materials, the hands-on work, 6%
- Move materials between areas, the hands-on work, 6%
What becomes checking the machine
No desk work within reach by then in tasks where a mistake costs something. Another 3% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 95% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
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 . 34 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate machinery used in the production process, or assist machine operators.Running machines or helping the operator.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Vision-guided cobot palletising system (AMP Automation) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Pack and store materials and products.Packing and putting away by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Cama cartoning and wraparound case packing system (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Separate products according to weight, grade, size, or composition of materials used to produce them.Separating products by weight, grade or size.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, TOMRA fresh-pack potato optical sorters (5A/5S/Sentinel II) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Help production workers by performing duties of lesser skill, such as supplying or holding materials or tools, or cleaning work areas and equipment.Supplying and holding materials and tools, and cleaning.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, OTTO Motors AMRs (OTTO 100/1500) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prepare raw materials for processing.Readying materials for processing.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KUKA machine tending robot cells (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Transfer finished products, raw materials, tools, or equipment between storage and work areas of plants and warehouses, by hand or using hand trucks or powered lift trucks.Moving items by hand, hand truck or lift truck.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Seegrid Palion Lift / Lift CR1, RS1, EL1 forklift AMRs (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Wash work areas, machines, equipment, vehicles, or products.Washing down by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Sani-Matic Clean-In-Place (CIP) systems (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Perform minor repairs to machines, such as replacing damaged or worn parts.Replacing worn parts by hand.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Kyokutoh automatic tip changer (KIKK / XCD) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Examine products to verify conformance to quality standards.Looking over the products against the standard.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TOMRA Food optical sorters (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 7 min2 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Count finished products to determine if product orders are complete.Counting by hand against the order.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Hoosier Feeder automated parts counting system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 8 min2 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Load and unload items from machines, conveyors, and conveyances.Loading and unloading by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Digit (Agility Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 8 min2 min to 21 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Observe equipment operations so that malfunctions can be detected, and notify operators of any malfunctions.Watching the equipment and telling the operator.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Hands-on 80%, in person 20% | 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.
- Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Helpers--Extraction Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Machine Feeders and Offbearers5% now, 5% by 2028
- Helpers--Carpenters0% now, 0% by 2028
- Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters6% now, 6% by 2028
- Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons0% now, 0% 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 Helpers--Production Workers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 4% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 4% 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 Helpers--Production Workers 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: Record production information (100% of the task's time now); and Read gauges and record data (40% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Helpers--Production Workers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Operate or assist on production machinery; Pack and store products; and Sort products. Together such tasks are about 95% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Helpers--Production Workers 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. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 97% of the working time stays with people, 0% becomes checking a model's work and 3% 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 Helpers--Production Workers?
- 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 4%. 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 Helpers--Production Workers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 91% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 91% of the working time, 32% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.23 of 3. One example: TOMRA fresh-pack potato optical sorters (5A/5S/Sentinel II) for "sort products". 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 34 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.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
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.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.