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Handling and Moving Objects

Work activity group · O*NET

Handling and Moving Objects is one of the 41 Generalized Work Activities at the top of O*NET's work-activity hierarchy — the broadest description of what people do on the job, sitting above the more specific intermediate and detailed work activities. Across the 894 occupations O*NET rates on it, it scores an average importance of 2.87 of 5 — 23rd percentile among all activity groups.

Intermediate activities it contains

The intermediate work activities O*NET groups under Handling and Moving Objects, ranked by how many occupations perform each. Each links to its own page.

Intermediate activity Occupations AI applied
Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance 148 70th pct
Cut materials 93 38th pct
Assemble equipment or components 88 34th pct
Position materials or components for assembly 85 36th pct
Build structures 67 30th pct
Disassemble equipment 66 49th pct
Apply protective solutions or coatings 63 47th pct
Position workpieces or materials on equipment 60 25th pct
Set up equipment 59 72nd pct
Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment 53 31st pct
Position tools or equipment 48 47th pct
Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools 47 56th pct
Collect environmental or biological samples 45 8th pct
Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques 45 7th pct
Install commercial or production equipment 44 24th pct
Stock supplies or products 43 8th pct
Prepare industrial materials for processing or use 42 25th pct
Package objects 40 22nd pct
Drill holes in earth or materials 38 18th pct
Assemble products or work aids 37 31st pct
Fabricate devices or components 37 16th pct
Remove workpieces from production equipment 37 15th pct
Prepare medical equipment or work areas for use 32 11th pct
Arrange displays or decorations 31 64th pct
Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections 30 37th pct
Collect samples of products or materials 28 21st pct
Shape materials to create products 26 29th pct
Prepare foods or beverages 25 48th pct
Prepare specimens or materials for testing 21 20th pct
Set up classrooms, facilities, educational materials, or equipment 19 29th pct
Fabricate medical devices 17 4th pct
Apply decorative finishes 15 67th pct
Create decorative objects or parts of objects 15 80th pct
Install plumbing or piping equipment or systems 14 17th pct
Sew garments or materials 11 9th pct
Adjust medical equipment to ensure adequate performance 9 6th pct
Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair 9 28th pct
Cut trees or other vegetation 9 16th pct
Direct vehicle traffic 9 5th pct
Engrave objects 7 7th pct
Install energy or heating equipment 7 8th pct
Embalm corpses 4 1st pct
Groom or style hair 3 18th pct
Process animal carcasses 3 1st pct
Tend watercraft 3 14th pct
Train animals 2 28th pct
Hunt animals 1 11th pct

How AI is applied to this activity group

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study measured how often an AI assistant performs each work activity in real Bing Copilot conversations. Averaged across the 47 intermediate activities under Handling and Moving Objects that the study measured, this group ranks in the 27th percentile for how frequently AI is applied — a description of how AI is used today, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

The figure is the mean of the child activities' applied-percentiles; open any activity above to see its underlying Microsoft measurements. Every occupation blends many activities, so a high AI-applied rank for one group does not mean a job is being automated.

Occupations that rely on this activity group most

Ranked by O*NET importance rating (1–5) for Handling and Moving Objects. Wages are BLS OEWS May 2024 national medians.

Occupation Importance Median pay Employment
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand 4.88 $41,690 11,850
Helpers--Extraction Workers 4.75 $48,400 6,720
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products 4.60 $35,430 26,870
Driver/Sales Workers 4.57 $37,130 417,420
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers 4.57 $41,080 2,610
Light Truck Drivers 4.54 $44,140 994,410
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing 4.54 $45,690 34,750
Insulation Workers, Mechanical 4.48 $57,250 25,640
Carpet Installers 4.47 $49,850 14,980
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers 4.47 $59,280 14,140
Wind Turbine Service Technicians 4.47 $62,580 11,220
Millwrights 4.45 $65,170 40,660
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 4.45 $67,370 16,480
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders 4.44 $45,210 12,170
Surgical Technologists 4.42 $62,830 113,890
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters 4.42 $46,480 15,660
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 4.41 $92,560 123,680
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 4.40 $46,390 805,770
Structural Iron and Steel Workers 4.39 $62,700 64,720
Foundry Mold and Coremakers 4.39 $45,700 12,720
Pile Driver Operators 4.39 $70,510 3,040
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles 4.38 $47,940 10,140
Team Assemblers 4.38 — —
Helpers--Carpenters 4.37 $41,600 24,610
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.35 $45,190 70,110
Potters, Manufacturing 4.35 $45,690 34,750
Baggage Porters and Bellhops 4.35 $36,020 31,220
Tire Builders 4.34 $55,580 20,970
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas 4.34 $65,010 13,090
Packers and Packagers, Hand 4.33 $35,580 601,440
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 4.33 $49,390 96,950
Surgical Assistants 4.33 $60,290 22,860
Segmental Pavers 4.33 — —
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 4.32 $54,660 205,230
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers 4.32 $52,540 38,420
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.30 $41,600 31,510
Embalmers 4.30 $56,280 3,420
Electricians 4.28 $62,350 742,580
Stonemasons 4.28 $51,990 8,750
Solar Photovoltaic Installers 4.26 $51,860 28,280
Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons 4.26 $58,540 1,100
Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall 4.25 $48,680 38,610
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.25 $47,450 14,590
Medical Equipment Preparers 4.24 $46,490 72,760
Orderlies 4.24 $37,700 53,020
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.24 $48,630 22,350
Bicycle Repairers 4.24 $40,360 12,590
Sailors and Marine Oilers 4.23 $49,610 31,360
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 4.22 $63,980 180,270
Roofers 4.22 $50,970 136,740
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers 4.22 $49,800 25,700
Motorcycle Mechanics 4.22 $47,200 14,010
Model Makers, Wood 4.22 $51,850 360
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers 4.21 $37,350 192,480
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters 4.21 $59,110 5,680
Firefighters 4.20 $59,530 332,240
Helpers--Electricians 4.20 $39,890 64,440
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 4.20 $52,550 34,210
Fallers 4.20 $53,900 4,110
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 4.19 $37,700 141,090

Showing 60 of 894 occupations.

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.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Handling and Moving Objects." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/handling-and-moving-objects

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Handling and Moving Objects. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/handling-and-moving-objects

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-handling-and-moving-objects,
  title  = {Handling and Moving Objects},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/handling-and-moving-objects}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.