---
title: "Will AI Replace Recreation Workers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates recreation workers' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+4.3% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-recreation-workers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Recreation Workers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places recreation workers in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +4.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 67,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 52/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +4.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 67,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $36,560 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 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: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Assisting and caring for others: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Scheduling work and activities: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Assess the needs and interests of individuals and groups and plan activities accordingly, given the available equipment or facilities.
- Organize, lead, and promote interest in recreational activities, such as arts, crafts, sports, games, camping, and hobbies.
- Meet with staff to discuss rules, regulations, and work-related problems.
- Evaluate recreation areas, facilities, and services to determine if they are producing desired results.
- Enforce rules and regulations of recreational facilities to maintain discipline and ensure safety.
- Confer with management to discuss and resolve participant complaints.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than recreation workers

- [Animal Trainer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/animal-trainer): BLS exposure Low, median $39,990
- [Shampooer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/shampooer): BLS exposure Low, median $32,600
- [Embalmer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/embalmer): BLS exposure Low, median $58,780

## FAQ

**Will AI replace recreation workers?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. 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 +4.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 67,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are recreation workers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Recreation Workers are in the moderate category, alongside 193 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 recreation 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 processing information, documenting/recording information and getting information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing for or working directly with the public and assisting and caring for others. 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 recreation worker a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, recreation workers score 52 out of 100, higher than 66% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $36,560 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 recreation workers are less exposed to AI?**

Animal Trainer (low exposure, $39,990 median), Shampooer (low exposure, $32,600 median), Embalmer (low exposure, $58,780 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than recreation workers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/recreation-worker.

---

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