Community Sentiment
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Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Helpers--Production Workers?
Task-level automation exposure for Helpers--Production Workers: 34 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
16%
weighted task index
34 of 34 tasks scored
Median Salary
$39,070 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
165,700 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-8.2%
employment change
20,900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 51 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$22,780 – $46,170
Highest medians
North Dakota $46,170
Montana $46,110
Iowa $45,560
Colorado $45,550
Washington $45,450
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $22,780
Guam $29,520
Mississippi $33,880
Arkansas $35,540
New Mexico $35,650
State figures come from the 51-9198 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 16%
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 5%
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
34 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) 5%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 4%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 91%
31 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
#12696 · Core · 10% automatable
Lift raw materials, finished products, and packed items, manually or using hoists.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#12698 · Core · 12% automatable
Mark or tag identification on parts.
physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
#12695 · Core · 52% automatable
Observe equipment operations so that malfunctions can be detected, and notify operators of any malfunctions.
text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging
Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions. Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#12697 · Core · 30% automatable
Count finished products to determine if product orders are complete.
visual inspection — Counting physical products needs presence or sensors
Count finished products or workpieces.
#12694 · Core · 22% automatable
Examine products to verify conformance to quality standards.
visual inspection — Physical work inspection against standards
Inspect work to ensure standards are met.
#12693 · Core · 15% automatable
Operate machinery used in the production process, or assist machine operators.
physical manipulation — Hands-on control of industrial machinery in unstructured settings
Operate industrial equipment.
#12699 · Core · 5% automatable
Load and unload items from machines, conveyors, and conveyances.
physical manipulation — Physically extracting parts from production equipment
Load materials into production equipment. Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
#12707 · Core · 6% automatable
Remove products, machine attachments, or waste material from machines.
physical manipulation — Physically extracting parts from production equipment
Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
#12704 · Core · 10% automatable
Separate products according to weight, grade, size, or composition of materials used to produce them.
physical manipulation — Physical product sorting needs manipulation in warehouse
Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.
#12708 · Core · 10% automatable
Pack and store materials and products.
physical manipulation — Physically packaging products for shipment
Package products for storage or shipment.
#12719 · Core · 6% automatable
Wash work areas, machines, equipment, vehicles, or products.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of physical workpieces
Clean work areas. Clean production equipment. Clean workpieces or finished products.
#12706 · Core · 4% automatable
Place products in equipment or on work surfaces for further processing, inspecting, or wrapping.
physical manipulation — Hands-on loading of materials into equipment
Load materials into production equipment.
#12710 · Core · 8% automatable
Transfer finished products, raw materials, tools, or equipment between storage and work areas of plants and warehouses, by hand or using hand trucks or powered lift trucks.
physical manipulation — Physical moving of products between work areas
Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.
#12700 · Core · 5% automatable
Help production workers by performing duties of lesser skill, such as supplying or holding materials or tools, or cleaning work areas and equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas
Clean work areas. Clean production equipment.
#12712 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Prepare raw materials for processing.
physical manipulation — Physical preparation of materials by hand
Prepare materials for processing.
#12715 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Read gauges or charts, and record data obtained.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#12703 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Start machines or equipment to begin production processes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on control of industrial machinery in unstructured settings
Operate industrial equipment.
#12702 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Record information, such as the number of products tested, meter readings, or dates and times of product production.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#12705 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Turn valves to regulate flow of liquids or air, to reverse machines, to start pumps, or to regulate equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on adjustment of liquid flow controls
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of water, cleaning solutions, or other liquids.
#12709 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Tie products in bundles for further processing or shipment, following prescribed procedures.
physical manipulation — Physically packaging products for shipment
Package products for storage or shipment.
#12713 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Measure amounts of products, lengths of extruded articles, or weights of filled containers to ensure conformance to specifications.
physical manipulation — Physically weighing finished products on scale
Weigh finished products.
#12711 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Signal coworkers to direct them to move products during the production process.
physical manipulation — Embodied signaling in shared physical workspace
Signal others to coordinate work activities.
#12717 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Position spouts or chutes of storage bins so that containers can be filled.
physical manipulation — Mounting tools requires hands-on setup
Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
#12726 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Attach slings, ropes, or cables to objects such as pipes, hoses, or bundles.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#12722 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Break up defective products for reprocessing.
physical manipulation — Physical preparation of materials by hand
Prepare materials for processing.
#12725 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Perform minor repairs to machines, such as replacing damaged or worn parts.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components
Replace worn equipment components. Repair production equipment or tools.
#12718 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Fold products and product parts during processing.
physical manipulation — Physical product sorting needs manipulation in warehouse
Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading. Prepare materials for processing.
#12724 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Cut or break flashing from materials or products.
physical manipulation — Manual trimming of workpieces
Trim excess material from workpieces.
#12723 · Supplemental · 6% automatable
Change machine gears, using wrenches.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components
Assemble machine tools, parts, or fixtures. Assemble mechanical components or machine parts. Replace worn equipment components.
#12701 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Clean and lubricate equipment.
physical manipulation — Manual lubrication of production equipment
Clean production equipment. Lubricate production equipment.
#12721 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Dump materials such as prepared ingredients into machine hoppers prior to mixing.
physical manipulation — Physical mixing of ingredients by hand
Mix ingredients. Shovel materials.
#12720 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Unclamp and hoist full reels from braiding, winding, or other fabricating machines, using power hoists.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Remove products or workpieces from production equipment. Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#12716 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Mix ingredients according to specified procedures or formulas.
physical manipulation — Physical mixing of chemical solutions
Mix substances to create chemical solutions.
#12714 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Thread ends of items such as thread, cloth, and lace through needles and rollers, and around take-up tubes.
physical manipulation — Threading wire through conduits is manual
Thread wire or cable through ducts or conduits. Run wiring to connect equipment.
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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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