Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
Also called: Helper, Painter Helper, Plaster Helper, Plaster TenderHelp painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 1.5% 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, 11.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Helpers, construction trades”
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $32,000 | $32,000 to $48,140 | 110 |
| California | $46,220 | $38,500 to $51,940 | 1,990 |
| Colorado | $42,470 | $33,280 to $44,740 | not published |
| Connecticut | $43,070 | $42,470 to $44,830 | not published |
| Florida | $36,010 | $31,980 to $38,220 | 310 |
| Georgia | $35,430 | $34,130 to $35,430 | not published |
| Hawaii | $51,540 | $37,250 to $52,760 | 130 |
| Idaho | $38,760 | $38,480 to $42,280 | 230 |
| Indiana | $36,550 | $36,550 to $38,610 | not published |
| Louisiana | $37,340 | $31,240 to $44,330 | 250 |
| Maryland | $39,080 | $33,120 to $40,760 | 90 |
| Michigan | $30,300 | $30,300 to $38,590 | not published |
| Mississippi | $23,470 | $20,650 to $30,630 | 60 |
| Montana | $44,720 | $44,560 to $46,370 | 50 |
| Nevada | $38,330 | $36,790 to $38,430 | 80 |
| New Mexico | $35,860 | $31,200 to $39,130 | 50 |
| New York | $52,000 | $49,570 to $52,000 | not published |
| North Carolina | $35,980 | $29,290 to $41,010 | 260 |
| Ohio | $53,340 | $53,340 to $57,590 | 40 |
| Oregon | $40,180 | $37,990 to $43,280 | 240 |
| Tennessee | $36,130 | $28,450 to $36,300 | 40 |
| Texas | $37,040 | $33,730 to $39,110 | 1,220 |
| Utah | $44,500 | $37,470 to $45,510 | not published |
| Virginia | $43,160 | $36,830 to $46,320 | not published |
| Washington | $39,360 | $37,340 to $52,060 | 160 |
Nationally: $40,470. 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 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Clean work areas and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Supply or hold tools and materials. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply protective coverings, such as masking tape, to articles or areas that could be damaged or stained by work processes. | Not published |
| Not much | Erect scaffolding. | Not published |
| Not much | Smooth surfaces of articles to be painted, using sanding and buffing tools and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform support duties to assist painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or masons. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Fill cracks or breaks in surfaces of plaster articles or areas with putty or epoxy compounds. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix plaster, and carry plaster to plasterers. | Not published |
| Not much | Pour specified amounts of chemical solutions into stripping tanks. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove articles such as cabinets, metal furniture, and paint containers from stripping tanks after prescribed periods of time. | Not published |
| Not much | Place articles to be stripped into stripping tanks. | 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 11 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 11 tasks fall under 8 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections | |||
| Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment | |||
| Set up protective structures or coverings near work areas |
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 helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons 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 8 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
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 68% less than high school
- 26% high school
- 4% postsecondary certificate
- 1% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 31 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 30% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 17% some college
- 1% associate's
- 3% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Helpers, construction trades” · 300 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 “Helpers, construction trades”
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
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
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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