Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Also called: Iron Installer, Iron Worker, Ironworker, RodbusterPosition and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 7 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 5.3% 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
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 92% 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 | $43,640 | $39,990 to $45,630 | 390 |
| Alaska | $61,480 | $52,290 to $71,760 | not published |
| Arizona | $58,230 | $43,980 to $66,120 | 60 |
| Arkansas | $45,700 | $39,710 to $45,710 | not published |
| California | $63,110 | $48,900 to $101,020 | 2,390 |
| Colorado | $56,160 | $48,800 to $71,620 | 260 |
| Florida | $50,500 | $45,550 to $57,300 | 1,150 |
| Georgia | $47,480 | $36,250 to $76,990 | 80 |
| Guam | $36,830 | $36,430 to $36,960 | 400 |
| Illinois | $105,580 | $96,040 to $105,580 | not published |
| Indiana | $64,650 | $64,370 to $89,760 | 70 |
| Kentucky | $66,830 | $51,980 to $69,930 | 40 |
| Louisiana | $70,700 | $62,460 to $89,550 | 130 |
| Maryland | $61,640 | $59,180 to $65,150 | not published |
| Michigan | $91,220 | $77,570 to $94,470 | not published |
| Mississippi | $39,860 | $35,910 to $60,540 | 40 |
| Missouri | $59,410 | $52,000 to $79,650 | 320 |
| Nebraska | $62,920 | $58,960 to $75,970 | 230 |
| Nevada | $102,130 | $82,970 to $103,760 | 460 |
| New Jersey | $116,110 | $110,510 to $130,270 | not published |
| New Mexico | $54,080 | $47,860 to $65,790 | 260 |
| New York | $98,040 | $82,180 to $121,660 | 1,110 |
| North Carolina | $51,690 | $50,220 to $59,840 | 90 |
| Oklahoma | $50,370 | $48,010 to $53,770 | 130 |
| Oregon | $93,490 | $89,850 to $98,930 | 240 |
| Pennsylvania | $74,670 | $64,000 to $87,790 | not published |
| Puerto Rico | $27,120 | $26,380 to $27,130 | 80 |
| South Carolina | $41,020 | $38,370 to $64,950 | 80 |
| Tennessee | $57,920 | $50,030 to $61,190 | 500 |
| Texas | $50,650 | $45,830 to $58,970 | 3,640 |
| Utah | $49,040 | $46,210 to $56,660 | 100 |
| Virgin Islands | $45,510 | $37,980 to $46,090 | 40 |
| Virginia | $55,120 | $47,270 to $62,440 | not published |
| Washington | $108,970 | $81,980 to $118,970 | 130 |
| Wisconsin | $121,620 | $83,100 to $123,650 | 50 |
Nationally: $58,970. 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 7 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Position and secure steel bars, rods, cables, or mesh in concrete forms, using fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, or hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Determine quantities, sizes, shapes, and locations of reinforcing rods from blueprints, sketches, or oral instructions. | Not published |
| Not much | Space and fasten together rods in forms according to blueprints, using wire and pliers. | Not published |
| Not rated | Use forklifts or cranes to move construction material, such as rebar. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut rods to required lengths, using metal shears, hacksaws, bar cutters, or acetylene torches. | Not published |
| Not rated | Unload rebar from trucks. | Not published |
See all 9 tasks
| Not much | Cut and fit wire mesh or fabric, using hooked rods, and position fabric or mesh in concrete to reinforce concrete. | Not published |
| Not much | Place blocks under rebar to hold the bars off the deck when reinforcing floors. | Not published |
| Not much | Bend steel rods with hand tools or rod-bending machines and weld them with arc-welding equipment. | 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 9 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 9 tasks fall under 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Position tools or equipment | |||
| Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing |
Show all 10 activities
| Operate lifting or moving equipment | |||
| Operate construction or excavation equipment |
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 reinforcing iron and rebar workers 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 in from
of 27 moves in
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
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 3 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (REINFORCING IRONWORKER CONCRETE (Existing Title: Reinforcing Metal Worker); REINFORCING METAL WORKER; REINFORCING METAL WORKER (Alternate Title: Ironworker Reinforcing Concrete)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers” 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
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