Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Also called: Block Layer, Brick and Block Mason, Bricklayer, MasonLay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 14 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 1.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 6.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 95% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.12.8 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $49,710 | $39,470 to $57,310 | 370 |
| Arizona | $59,260 | $52,090 to $64,210 | 1,190 |
| Arkansas | $55,100 | $46,060 to $59,670 | 450 |
| California | $69,050 | $58,730 to $79,580 | 3,820 |
| Colorado | $65,260 | $51,230 to $75,120 | 870 |
| Connecticut | $67,960 | $58,240 to $87,540 | 480 |
| Delaware | $66,550 | $56,010 to $83,450 | 200 |
| District of Columbia | $64,450 | $63,950 to $83,760 | 200 |
| Florida | $52,760 | $44,370 to $62,410 | 2,610 |
| Georgia | $50,650 | $37,440 to $68,430 | not published |
| Hawaii | $79,250 | $47,450 to $90,940 | 120 |
| Idaho | $62,510 | $52,710 to $75,970 | 320 |
| Illinois | $89,980 | $62,450 to $102,260 | 2,490 |
| Indiana | $73,110 | $56,980 to $80,210 | 1,770 |
| Iowa | $69,440 | $53,610 to $76,120 | 290 |
| Kansas | $59,220 | $48,480 to $77,860 | 330 |
| Kentucky | $59,820 | $45,060 to $68,800 | 780 |
| Louisiana | $57,440 | $47,940 to $60,790 | 240 |
| Maine | $42,710 | $40,160 to $59,340 | 90 |
| Maryland | $59,030 | $46,980 to $62,400 | 1,650 |
| Massachusetts | $94,950 | $76,280 to $133,490 | 1,570 |
| Michigan | $63,500 | $55,430 to $81,050 | 2,240 |
| Minnesota | $95,220 | $84,880 to $98,810 | 1,040 |
| Mississippi | $48,820 | $37,220 to $52,640 | 160 |
| Missouri | $72,370 | $58,620 to $79,550 | 1,940 |
| Montana | $56,030 | $48,340 to $61,760 | 140 |
| Nebraska | $61,200 | $54,120 to $65,000 | 350 |
| Nevada | $60,670 | $50,300 to $64,010 | 810 |
| New Hampshire | $66,890 | $53,270 to $75,340 | 140 |
| New Jersey | $77,010 | $61,550 to $103,700 | 520 |
| New Mexico | $44,980 | $39,750 to $49,710 | 270 |
| New York | $84,410 | $74,160 to $107,600 | 3,790 |
| North Carolina | $49,940 | $45,300 to $57,620 | 1,760 |
| North Dakota | $79,940 | $57,500 to $82,350 | 150 |
| Ohio | $70,950 | $57,320 to $79,860 | 2,770 |
| Oklahoma | $50,620 | $45,450 to $59,230 | 580 |
| Oregon | $79,450 | $66,360 to $99,070 | 650 |
| Pennsylvania | $69,560 | $59,440 to $86,920 | 2,910 |
| Puerto Rico | $51,420 | $33,540 to $55,350 | 50 |
| Rhode Island | $79,280 | $57,130 to $107,970 | 220 |
| South Carolina | $49,010 | $45,450 to $61,680 | 410 |
| South Dakota | $60,380 | $47,100 to $66,080 | 320 |
| Tennessee | $63,850 | $54,340 to $72,910 | 1,050 |
| Texas | $56,410 | $48,480 to $59,430 | 4,300 |
| Utah | $60,450 | $49,660 to $70,400 | 1,590 |
| Vermont | $59,590 | $57,410 to $63,600 | 100 |
| Virgin Islands | $51,390 | $49,000 to $59,090 | 90 |
| Virginia | $54,680 | $46,550 to $60,630 | 2,350 |
| Washington | $83,190 | $73,090 to $102,140 | 600 |
| West Virginia | $46,600 | $41,430 to $62,410 | 210 |
| Wisconsin | $80,120 | $61,550 to $96,970 | 1,050 |
| Wyoming | $60,040 | $56,420 to $72,800 | 230 |
Nationally: $62,120. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 14 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels. | Not published |
| Not much | Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick. | Not published |
| Not much | Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses. | Not published |
| Not much | Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance. | Not published |
| Not much | Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required. | Not published |
See all 14 tasks
| Not much | Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper. | Not published |
| Not much | Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures. | Not published |
| Not much | Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces. | Not published |
| Not much | Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 14 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 14 tasks fall under 13 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build structures | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Plan work activities | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Determine resource needs of projects or operations |
Show all 13 activities
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet40%
- A document or report15%
- Math or a calculation14%
- A chart or visualization6%
- An analysis or summary5%
How they worked with Claude
87% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for brickmasons and blockmasons specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,842 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 2 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education Moderate +4.5% 5%
- 3 Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel Very high +2.7% 5%
- 4 Computer Programmers Very high -7.3% 5%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,776 moves in
- 1 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education Moderate +4.5% 9%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 4%
- 5 Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel Very high +2.7% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 13% less than high school
- 70% high school
- 13% some college
- 3% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 16 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 35% less than high school
- 44% high school
- 14% some college
- 3% associate's
- 3% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons” · 1,145 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons”
1 program: Mason/Masonry.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 6 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Brickmasons and Blockmasons” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-2021.00