Headline risk
3%
Very Low RiskCorrectional officers and jailers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.
Task evidence
98% weighted task match · 0% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 57,970
Employment 2024
387.5K
Projected Change (2024–34)
-7.8%
Openings (2024–34)
30.1K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of correctional officers and bailiffs is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes. AI use: 0%
- 2. Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present. AI use: 0%
- 3. Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence. AI use: 0%
- 4. Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities. AI use: 0%
- 5. Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs. AI use: 0%
- 6. Participate in required job training. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 39.9 · 296K employed
Under 25: 9% · 25–54: 76% · 55+: 15%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
crosswalk_exact · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Correctional officers guard people in penal institutions and guard those in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Bailiffs are law enforcement officers who maintain order in courtrooms.
Working in a correctional institution can be stressful and dangerous. Correctional officers work in shifts that cover all hours of the day and night, including weekends and holidays. Bailiffs usually work when court is in session.
Correctional officers and bailiffs typically need a high school diploma to enter their occupation. They typically go to a training academy and then are assigned to a facility, where they receive on-the-job training. Although qualifications vary by state and agency, many agencies have an age requirement for correctional officers. Some federal agencies also require officers to have a bachelor’s degree or related work experience.
The median annual wage for bailiffs was $57,050 in May 2024.
Overall employment of correctional officers and bailiffs is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.