← All 785 jobsFile 51-9198
Helpers--Production Workers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 8.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -8.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $39,070 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 167,400 in the US, with about 20,900 openings a year
The work, 23 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Remove workpieces from production equipment10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Package objects5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Move materials, equipment, or supplies4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Mark materials or objects for identification3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Signal others to coordinate work activities3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Sort materials or products2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Cut materials1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 92 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 20,900 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 57% of the workFood Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders6% AI does, against 0% here-0.3% by 2035 · $41,590 · High school diploma
- Shares 56% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 0% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 56% of the workPackaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders0% AI does, against 0% here+4.1% by 2035 · $43,220 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.02, higher than 4% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-9198 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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