First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.4). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Tasks

All 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Maintain a safe working environment by monitoring safety procedures and equipment. Core · importance 4.5
• Collaborate with workers and managers to solve work-related problems. Core · importance 4.4
• Review work throughout the work process and at completion to ensure that it has been performed properly. Core · importance 4.4
• Examine freight to determine loading sequences. Core · importance 4.4
• Inform designated employees or departments of items loaded or problems encountered. Core · importance 4.1
• Inspect equipment for wear and for conformance to specifications. Core · importance 4.1
• Prepare and maintain work records and reports of information such as employee time and wages, daily receipts, or inspection results. Core · importance 4.1
• Schedule times of shipment and modes of transportation for materials. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Transmit and explain work orders to laborers. Core · importance 4.0
• Plan work schedules and assign duties to maintain adequate staff for effective performance of activities and response to fluctuating workloads. Core · importance 4.0
• Inventory supplies and requisition or purchase additional items, as necessary. Core · importance 4.0
• Participate in the hiring process by reviewing credentials, conducting interviews, or making hiring decisions or recommendations. Core · importance 3.9
• Estimate material, time, and staffing requirements for a given project, based on work orders, job specifications, and experience. Core · importance 3.9
• Counsel employees in work-related activities, personal growth, or career development. Core · importance 3.9
• Assess training needs of staff and arrange for or provide appropriate instruction. Core · importance 3.9
• Conduct staff meetings to relay general information or to address specific topics, such as safety. Core · importance 3.9
• Check specifications of materials loaded or unloaded against information contained in work orders. Core · importance 3.9
• Perform the same work duties as those supervised, or perform more difficult or skilled tasks or assist in their performance. Core · importance 3.9
• Resolve personnel problems, complaints, or formal grievances when possible, or refer them to higher-level supervisors for resolution. Core · importance 3.8
• Recommend or initiate personnel actions, such as promotions, transfers, or disciplinary measures. Core · importance 3.8
• Quote prices to customers. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Provide assistance in balancing books, tracking, monitoring, or projecting a unit's budget needs, and in developing unit policies and procedures. Supplemental · importance 3.7
• Evaluate employee performance and prepare performance appraisals. Core · importance 3.7
• Inspect job sites to determine the extent of maintenance or repairs needed. Core · importance 3.7

Work activities

• Monitor work environment to ensure safety or adherence to specifications.
• Schedule operational activities.
• Plan work operations.
• Resolve personnel problems.
• Monitor loading processes to ensure they are performed properly.
• Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
• Direct material handling or moving activities.
• Verify information or specifications.
• Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
• Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
• Evaluate performance of applicants, trainees, or employees.
• Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel.
• Record operational or production data.
• Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
• Support the professional development of others.
• Inspect material-moving equipment to detect problems.
• Recommend personnel decisions or human resources activities.
• Train transportation or material moving personnel.
• Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
• Estimate technical or resource requirements for development or production projects.
• Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards.
• Acquire supplies or equipment.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Abilities

Transferable skills

Essential skills

Knowledge

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft PowerPoint Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Microsoft Access Specialized Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Sage ERP Accpac Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Presentation Software Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Related experience

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Interest areas

Work styles

Related occupations

• First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers · 49-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers · 51-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators · 53-1043.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers · 47-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants · 53-1044.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers · 43-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers · 45-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers · 37-1011.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers · 41-1012.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers · 33-1091.00 Compare →
• First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services · 39-1014.00 Compare →
• Industrial Production Managers · 11-3051.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

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
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-role-53-1042-00,
  title  = {First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-1042-00}
}