---
title: "Will AI Replace Construction Laborers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates construction laborers' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+7.3% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-construction-laborers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Construction Laborers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates construction laborers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places construction laborers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +7.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 120,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 72/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +7.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 120,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $47,120 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low (this job) | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working outdoors in all weather: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Getting information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Analyzing data or information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
- Clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards.
- Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
- Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.
- Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.
- Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Derrick Operator, Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/derrick-operator-oil-and-gas): BLS exposure Low, median $58,620
- [Helpers--Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-electrician): BLS exposure Low, median $42,670
- [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $47,730
- [Earth Driller, Except Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/earth-driller): BLS exposure Low, median $60,190

## FAQ

**Will AI replace construction laborers?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates construction laborers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +7.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 120,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are construction laborers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Construction Laborers are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a construction laborer's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are getting information, analyzing data or information and documenting/recording information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment and inspecting equipment, structures, or materials. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a construction laborer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, construction laborers score 72 out of 100, higher than 99% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $47,120 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to construction laborers are less exposed to AI?**

Derrick Operator, Oil and Gas (low exposure, $58,620 median), Helpers--Electrician (low exposure, $42,670 median), Helpers--Extraction Worker (low exposure, $47,730 median), Earth Driller, Except Oil and Gas (low exposure, $60,190 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/construction-laborer.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology