Construction Laborers

Moderate Risk
Low High

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
5.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

51% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Quite important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 286 votes

50% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 51% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Construction Laborers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Construction Laborers was $46,730 ($22 per hour).

The median annual wage for Construction Laborers was 5.6% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Construction Laborers' job openings is expected to rise 7.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 1,057,660 people employed as 'Construction Laborers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.7% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 145 people are employed as 'Construction Laborers'.

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What people are saying (13)

Leave a comment
Sksjsj (No chance)
03 Aug 2025 13:05
There is no chance that human labor will ever be 100% automated especialy in such place as construction sitd
Zay (No chance)
26 Mar 2025 04:41
The different tasks I perform each day and movements I make with my body would be hard for any machine to make. Also, talking with different people. Trying to be nice to management. The environment could have very unexpected elements while working. Machines break.
Lefty (Low)
08 Jul 2024 07:20
Too complicated and varied. Too many factors.
Joe (No chance)
13 Dec 2023 06:57
I replaced windows for 3 years, no way in hell do i see a robot being able to do that in residential units.
Riley Tiemann (No chance)
15 Nov 2022 20:58
Creating a machine that can adequately use at least 10 tools per job, while figuring out the best tool for the job would be virtually impossible.
Ningyuan Wang (Highly likely)
29 May 2022 20:46
Reducing the costs of manual labor has always been on the agenda to increase or maintain profits for employers. These employers are inevitably profit-driven, or they risk being competed out of the business.
Anonymous (Highly likely)
29 Sep 2021 00:29
I’m sure Boston dynamics already has a construction worker robot.
Steve Irwin
21 Aug 2021 11:28
As long as they make less of a mess in the lunch rooms and toilets I don't mind.
Ramesh (Highly likely)
09 Dec 2020 02:27
I saw a video about robots doing construction work very fast and accurate.
It geek
30 Jul 2020 01:46
3D printing in large scale will build your home in 72 hours, why do you need more people standing there pointing and hammering plywood? Don't worry about brick on your head. All material will be recycle, and if you get tired of your house, bull dose and build a new home while you go for a vacation. See this company Winsun from China and the home they build for Africa
TeroBau (Low)
02 Nov 2021 01:48
bruh, 3d printing just looks good but isn't. It just prints the skeleton. The muscles, pillars, interior structures, plumbing, and electrical arrangement should all be done by humans my silly friend.
Mark Corbin (Low)
04 Jun 2020 06:24
AI will have to be able to get around work sites with out tripping over loose material on the job site. Or be able to put siding on a wall like humans can.
Kid
17 Jan 2020 15:07
plz no i don't want a robot to accidentally drop a brick on my head
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

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.

O*NET-SOC code: 47-2061.00