Headline risk
3%
Very Low RiskLaborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
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
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified.
Task evidence
99% 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 38,940
Employment 2024
2988.9K
Projected Change (2024–34)
1.5%
Openings (2024–34)
384.3K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, or containers, by hand or using trucks, tractors, or other equipment. AI use: 0%
- 2. Operate forklifts, pallet jacks, power lifts, or front-end loaders to load bales, bundles, or other heavy items onto trucks for shipping to smelters or other recycled materials processing facilities. AI use: 0%
- 3. Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs. AI use: 0%
- 4. Clean recycling yard by sweeping, raking, picking up broken glass and loose paper debris, or moving barrels and bins. AI use: 0%
- 5. Maintain equipment storage areas to ensure that inventory is protected. AI use: 0%
- 6. Sort materials, such as metals, glass, wood, paper or plastics, into appropriate containers for recycling. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 36.9 · 2.2M employed
Under 25: 23% · 25–54: 58% · 55+: 19%
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
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials.
Most hand laborers and material movers work full time. Because materials are shipped around the clock, some workers, especially those in warehousing, work overnight shifts.
There are usually no formal educational requirements to become a hand laborer or material mover. Employers typically require only that applicants be physically able to perform the work.
The median annual wage for hand laborers and material movers was $37,680 in May 2024.
Overall employment of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
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.