---
title: "Will AI Replace Production Worker Helpers?"
description: "BLS rates production worker helpers' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-8.2%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-production-worker-helpers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Production Worker Helpers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates production worker helpers 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 production worker helpers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 8.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,900 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 57/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -8.2% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 20,900 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $39,070 | 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

- Performing general physical activities: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Handling and moving objects: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repetitive motions: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Being exact or highly accurate: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Examine products to verify conformance to quality standards.
- Lift raw materials, finished products, and packed items, manually or using hoists.
- Count finished products to determine if product orders are complete.
- 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.
- Pack and store materials and products.
- Load and unload items from machines, conveyors, and conveyances.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $47,730
- [Helpers--Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-carpenter): BLS exposure Low, median $43,780
- [Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-installation-maintenance-and-repair-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $39,630
- [Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-brickmason-blockmason-stonemason-and-tile-and-marble-setter): BLS exposure Low, median $47,550
- [Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason): BLS exposure Low, median $40,470

## FAQ

**Will AI replace production worker helpers?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates production worker helpers 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 fall by 8.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,900 openings a year.

**How exposed are production worker helpers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Production Worker Helpers 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 helpers--production worker's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, repetitive motions and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are performing general physical activities, face-to-face discussions and handling and moving objects. 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 helpers--production worker a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, production worker helpers score 57 out of 100, higher than 78% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $39,070 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 production worker helpers are less exposed to AI?**

Helpers--Extraction Worker (low exposure, $47,730 median), Helpers--Carpenter (low exposure, $43,780 median), Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker (low exposure, $39,630 median), Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter (low exposure, $47,550 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/helpers-production-worker.

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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