AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Helpers--Carpenters?

Task-level automation exposure for Helpers--Carpenters: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

9% weighted task index

19 of 19 tasks scored

Median Salary

$43,780 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

21,680 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-1.7% employment change

2,000 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$24,530 – $58,090

Highest medians

New Hampshire $58,090

Colorado $50,900

Connecticut $50,460

Rhode Island $50,300

Maine $50,100

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $24,530

Missouri $32,420

West Virginia $33,760

Delaware $33,920

South Dakota $34,700

State figures come from the 47-3012 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 9%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 100%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 7%

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 21/100 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

19 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) 0%

0 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 7%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 93%

18 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

#8268 · Core · 10% automatable

Erect scaffolding, shoring, or braces.

physical manipulation — Erecting temporary structures requires physical assembly

Assemble temporary equipment or structures.

#8271 · Core · 10% automatable

Clean work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site.

physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on

Clean equipment or facilities.

#8273 · Core · 8% automatable

Align, straighten, plumb, or square forms for installation.

physical manipulation — Manual placement and alignment of forms on site

Position construction forms or molds.

#8269 · Core · 37% automatable

Select tools, equipment, or materials from storage and transport items to work site.

decision support — Construction material selection needs code and site judgment

Select construction materials. Select construction equipment. Move construction or extraction materials to locations where they are needed.

#8270 · Core · 3% automatable

Fasten timbers or lumber with glue, screws, pegs, or nails and install hardware.

physical manipulation — Wood structural installation is manual carpentry

Install wooden structural components.

#8267 · Core · 5% automatable

Position and hold timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting.

physical manipulation — Positioning structural components is physical labor

Position structural components.

#20444 · Core · 6% automatable

Cut timbers, lumber, or paneling to specified dimensions.

physical manipulation — Wood cutting requires manual tool operation

Cut wood components for installation.

#8272 · Core · 8% automatable

Hold plumb bobs, sighting rods, or other equipment to aid in establishing reference points and lines.

physical manipulation — Marking reference points is hands-on site work

Mark reference points on construction materials.

#24055 · Core · 7% automatable

Cut or weld metal.

physical manipulation — Welding is skilled hands-on metalwork

Cut metal components for installation. Weld metal components. Operate welding equipment.

#20443 · Core · 12% automatable

Drill holes in timbers or lumber.

physical manipulation — Drilling construction materials is hands-on tool work

Drill holes in construction materials.

#8280 · Core · 8% automatable

Glue and clamp edges or joints of assembled parts.

physical manipulation — Hands-on adhesive application in unstructured construction settings

Apply adhesives to construction materials.

#8279 · Core · 4% automatable

Install handrails under the direction of a carpenter.

physical manipulation — Installing fixtures requires manual dexterity

Install building fixtures.

#8278 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Construct forms and assist in raising them to the required elevation.

physical manipulation — Physical assisting of skilled trades on site

Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel. Build construction forms or molds.

#8277 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Secure stakes to grids for constructions of footings, nail scabs to footing forms, and vibrate and float concrete.

physical manipulation — Operating compaction equipment by hand on site

Compact materials to create level bases. Finish concrete surfaces. Build construction forms or molds.

#8276 · Supplemental · 16% automatable

Perform tie spacing layout and measure, mark, drill or cut.

physical manipulation — Physical measurement for assembly fitting

Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly. Mark reference points on construction materials.

#8275 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Smooth or sand surfaces to remove ridges, tool marks, glue, or caulking.

physical manipulation — Abrasive hand work on physical surfaces

Smooth surfaces with abrasive materials or tools.

#8283 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Cover surfaces with laminated plastic covering material.

physical manipulation — Manual application of protective coverings

Apply protective coverings to objects or surfaces near work areas.

#8281 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Cut and install insulating or sound-absorbing material.

physical manipulation — Hand cutting of flexible flooring materials

Install insulation in equipment or structures. Cut carpet, vinyl or other flexible materials.

#8282 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Cut tile or linoleum to fit and spread adhesives on flooring for installation.

physical manipulation — Hands-on adhesive application in unstructured construction settings

Apply adhesives to construction materials. Cut carpet, vinyl or other flexible materials.

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Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

Method

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

See the full method →

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