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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Cutters and Trimmers, Hand?
Task-level automation exposure for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
15%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$38,020 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
6,060 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-18.9%
employment change
500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 30 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$27,030 – $48,830
Highest medians
Nebraska $48,830
Vermont $48,670
Iowa $48,580
Rhode Island $48,100
North Carolina $47,910
Lowest medians
Tennessee $27,030
Texas $29,130
Arizona $31,110
Virginia $32,470
New Jersey $34,600
State figures come from the 51-9031 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 15%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 69%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 6%
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 19/100
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
18 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) 7%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%
0 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 93%
17 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 →Constituent Tasks
#14349 · Core · 12% automatable
Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
#14350 · Core · 8% automatable
Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
physical manipulation — Manual trimming of workpieces
Trim excess material from workpieces.
#14351 · Core · 6% automatable
Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
physical manipulation — Hands-on industrial material cutting
Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools. Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
#14361 · Core · 16% automatable
Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
physical manipulation — Marking reference points requires hands-on measurement
Measure materials to mark reference points, cutting lines, or other indicators. Position patterns on equipment, materials, or workpieces.
#14354 · Core · 80% automatable
Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders
Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
#14356 · Core · 8% automatable
Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on
Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
#14353 · Core · 12% automatable
Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
#14357 · Core · 5% automatable
Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.
physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading
Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
#14352 · Core · 10% automatable
Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade.
physical manipulation — Physical product sorting needs manipulation in warehouse
Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.
#14359 · Core · 4% automatable
Fold or shape materials before or after cutting them.
physical manipulation — Adjusting fabric is tactile manual work
Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
#14363 · Core · 10% automatable
Replace or sharpen dulled cutting tools such as saws.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components
Replace worn equipment components. Sharpen cutting or grinding tools.
#14364 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Lower table-mounted cutters such as knife blades, cutting wheels, or saws to cut items to specified sizes.
physical manipulation — Cutting equipment operation is manual and judgment-based
Operate cutting equipment.
#14358 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks.
physical manipulation — Hands-on stacking of finished items
Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
#14365 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Adjust guides and stops to control depths and widths of cuts.
physical manipulation — Physical control setting for cutting
Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.
#14355 · Supplemental · 26% automatable
Count or weigh and bundle items.
visual inspection — Counting physical products needs presence or sensors
Count finished products or workpieces. Weigh finished products.
#14360 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Clean, treat, buff, or polish finished items, using grinders, brushes, chisels, and cleaning solutions and polishing materials.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Clean workpieces or finished products. Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products. Operate grinding equipment.
#14362 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Route items to provide cutouts for parts, using portable routers, grinders, and hand tools.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Operate grinding equipment. Operate cutting equipment.
#14366 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Transport items to work or storage areas, using carts.
physical manipulation — Physical moving of products between work areas
Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.
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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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