Finger Dexterity
Ability · O*NET work requirement
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
In the O*NET occupational database, Finger Dexterity is an ability that work requires. O*NET rates how important it is (1–5) and what level of it a job needs (0–7) for every U.S. occupation. It is rated as important (3 or higher) in 357 of 894 occupations.
Breadth here means how widely O*NET rates this ability as important across occupations — not that it is rare, high-paying, or currently in employer demand.
Occupations that rely most on Finger Dexterity
Ranked by O*NET importance to the occupation (1–5). Bars are sized against the 1–5 scale; the level column is what depth of the ability the job needs (0–7).
Showing the top 40 of 357 occupations where this is important.
How AI is used by roles that need Finger Dexterity
This ability is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the roles for which O*NET rates it important and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across those roles (importance-weighted). 43.7% of the 357 roles where this is important carry observed AI-usage data (156 roles).
Across those roles, 34.4% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 32.3% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.48 / 5.
| Collaboration pattern | Share | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| directive | 27.3% | AI does it; you give the instruction |
| learning | 20.3% | you ask AI to explain or teach |
| task iteration | 12.8% | you and AI go back and forth |
| feedback loop | 5.0% | AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback |
| validation | 1.4% | you do it; AI checks your work |
Roles behind this signal
The roles where this ability is most important and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.
| Occupation | Importance | Works with AI | Autonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word Processors and Typists | 3.0 | 38.4% | 3.0/5 |
| Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers | 3.5 | 33.4% | 4.0/5 |
| Pharmacists | 3.1 | 73.9% | 3.5/5 |
| Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators | 3.4 | 50.0% | 4.0/5 |
| Chemists | 3.0 | 61.8% | 4.0/5 |
| Robotics Engineers | 3.5 | 42.0% | 4.0/5 |
| Biological Technicians | 3.0 | 55.5% | 4.0/5 |
| Chemical Technicians | 3.1 | 53.9% | 4.0/5 |
| Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers | 3.9 | 58.0% | 4.0/5 |
| Audio and Video Equipment Technicians | 3.0 | 51.6% | 4.0/5 |
| Craft Artists | 3.9 | 42.4% | 4.0/5 |
| Microbiologists | 3.0 | 56.2% | 4.0/5 |
Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. Shares are of observed conversations, weighted by how important this ability is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.
Industries that concentrate this
Where Finger Dexterity matters most across the economy. Employment reach is the share of an industry's workers in occupations that significantly rely on Finger Dexterity (O*NET importance ≥ 3 of 5). Concentration compares that reach to the national average industry, so a value above 1× means the requirement is more pervasive here than across the economy as a whole.
Nationally, about 22.4% of workers are in occupations that significantly rely on Finger Dexterity (measured across 67 industries).
Sectors with the most such workers
| Sector | Workers | Employment reach |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5,826,250 | 45.7% |
| Construction | 4,730,930 | 58.3% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 4,469,070 | 19.3% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 2,814,430 | 19.8% |
| Retail Trade | 2,684,690 | 17.2% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 2,405,280 | 32.5% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,826,620 | 20.2% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,737,780 | 39.3% |
| Wholesale Trade | 1,548,850 | 25.7% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,053,050 | 9.8% |
| Educational Services | 620,760 | 4.6% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 586,180 | 24.8% |
Industries where it is most concentrated
| Industry | Level | Concentration | Employment reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masonry Contractors | National industry | 3.33× | 74.6% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | Sector | 3.16× | 70.8% |
| Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors | National industry | 3.14× | 70.3% |
| Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors | National industry | 3.03× | 67.8% |
| Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | National industry | 3.01× | 67.5% |
| Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction | National industry | 2.92× | 65.5% |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors | National industry | 2.91× | 65.1% |
| Veterinary Services | National industry | 2.86× | 64.1% |
| Other Building Equipment Contractors | National industry | 2.86× | 64.0% |
| Machine Shops | National industry | 2.82× | 63.1% |
| Offices of Optometrists | National industry | 2.78× | 62.3% |
| Roofing Contractors | National industry | 2.7× | 60.5% |
Reach is a measure of how widespread a requirement is across an industry's workforce, not how intensively any individual uses it. Sector worker counts come from BLS OEWS employment; the significance threshold and tool use come from O*NET. Industries shown by concentration are filtered to a real worker base so a tiny specialty cannot top the list on rounding.
Related abilities, skills & knowledge
Capabilities required by many of the same occupations — a measure of which skills, knowledge and abilities tend to travel together, not a judgment of similarity.
| Capability | Type | Shared occupations |
|---|---|---|
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | Ability | 336 |
| Manual Dexterity | Ability | 316 |
| Control Precision | Ability | 279 |
| Multilimb Coordination | Ability | 211 |
| Operations Monitoring | Cross-functional skill | 224 |
| Visualization | Ability | 239 |
| Mechanical | Knowledge | 198 |
| Trunk Strength | Ability | 182 |
| Operation and Control | Cross-functional skill | 171 |
| Selective Attention | Ability | 298 |
| Perceptual Speed | Ability | 216 |
| Near Vision | Ability | 356 |
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Census NAICS 2022 U.S. Census Bureau
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Finger Dexterity." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/abilities/finger-dexterity
Singulariki. (2026). Finger Dexterity. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/abilities/finger-dexterity
@misc{singulariki-finger-dexterity,
title = {Finger Dexterity},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/abilities/finger-dexterity}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.