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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Brickmasons and Blockmasons?
Task-level automation exposure for Brickmasons and Blockmasons: 14 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
14%
weighted task index
14 of 14 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,120 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
52,550 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+1.1%
employment change
4,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$42,710 – $95,220
Highest medians
Minnesota $95,220
Massachusetts $94,950
Illinois $89,980
New York $84,410
Washington $83,190
Lowest medians
Maine $42,710
New Mexico $44,980
West Virginia $46,600
Mississippi $48,820
South Carolina $49,010
State figures come from the 47-2021 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 14%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 78%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 16%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 7/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
14 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 8%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%
0 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 92%
13 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 05/2025 · AI/SME
Use drone technology to inspect and assess the condition of tall structures.
Constituent Tasks
#4769 · Core · 16% automatable
Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
physical manipulation — Physical measurement for assembly fitting
Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly. Mark reference points on construction materials.
#4768 · Core · 2% automatable
Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
physical manipulation — Masonry requires skilled manual labor
Install masonry materials.
#4775 · Core · 4% automatable
Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
physical manipulation — Applying mortar is skilled manual masonry work
Apply mortar.
#4770 · Core · 30% automatable
Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
physical manipulation — Site layout requires physical inspection of space
Plan layout of construction, installation, or repairs.
#4772 · Core · 5% automatable
Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
physical manipulation — Masonry cutting requires skilled manual work
Cut tile, stone, or other masonry materials.
#4774 · Core · 70% automatable
Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
visual inspection — Specs reading aided, human validates requirements
Review blueprints or specifications to determine work requirements. Estimate materials requirements for projects.
#4773 · Core · 4% automatable
Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal of excess construction materials
Remove excess materials from finished construction projects. Apply mortar.
#4771 · Core · 2% automatable
Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
physical manipulation — Masonry requires skilled manual labor
Install masonry materials.
#4778 · Core · 10% automatable
Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
physical manipulation — Surface preparation is hands-on physical work
Clean surfaces in preparation for work activities.
#4777 · Core · 20% automatable
Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
visual inspection — On-site physical condition assessment is human work
Inspect work sites to determine condition or necessary repairs.
#4776 · Core · 12% automatable
Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
physical manipulation — Physical handling of substances in workspace
Mix substances or compounds needed for work activities.
#4780 · Core · 5% automatable
Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal of worn materials
Remove worn, damaged or outdated materials from work areas.
#4779 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
physical manipulation — Aligning masonry is skilled manual work
Install masonry materials. Align masonry materials.
#4781 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
physical manipulation — Applying sealants requires hands-on coating
Apply sealants or other protective coatings.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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