Team Assemblers
Also called: Assembler, Assembly Line Machine Operator, Assembly Line Worker, Assembly TechnicianWork as part of a team having responsibility for assembling an entire product or component of a product. Team assemblers can perform all tasks conducted by the team in the assembly process and rotate through all or most of them, rather than being assigned to a specific task on a permanent basis. May participate in making management decisions affecting the work. Includes team leaders who work as part of the team.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 11 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.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other assemblers and fabricators”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.4 hires for every 10 job openings in durable goods manufacturing, which employs about 69% 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.5.4 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 | $42,700 | $34,870 to $52,600 | 53,280 |
| Alaska | $49,390 | $38,810 to $62,180 | 220 |
| Arizona | $45,080 | $39,260 to $49,900 | 23,540 |
| Arkansas | $36,990 | $34,300 to $43,550 | 12,460 |
| California | $47,720 | $40,160 to $60,070 | 98,390 |
| Colorado | $46,150 | $40,520 to $50,810 | 9,180 |
| Connecticut | $45,170 | $37,590 to $52,000 | 10,850 |
| Delaware | $43,770 | $38,530 to $47,650 | 1,210 |
| District of Columbia | $50,330 | $46,580 to $56,310 | 80 |
| Florida | $38,410 | $35,380 to $46,730 | 42,060 |
| Georgia | $38,310 | $35,370 to $45,640 | 52,020 |
| Hawaii | $49,630 | $42,590 to $70,720 | 420 |
| Idaho | $44,210 | $37,680 to $48,890 | 5,890 |
| Illinois | $44,140 | $37,270 to $49,920 | 76,460 |
| Indiana | $45,550 | $37,830 to $53,160 | 85,610 |
| Iowa | $48,920 | $42,760 to $52,400 | 19,540 |
| Kansas | $45,220 | $37,460 to $49,640 | 13,830 |
| Kentucky | $47,950 | $38,170 to $59,730 | 47,320 |
| Louisiana | $45,070 | $36,610 to $58,060 | 3,400 |
| Maine | $45,970 | $39,410 to $52,270 | 3,910 |
| Maryland | $45,450 | $38,070 to $56,090 | 6,880 |
| Massachusetts | $46,720 | $39,450 to $49,420 | 11,600 |
| Michigan | $44,690 | $37,860 to $72,170 | 112,310 |
| Minnesota | $46,920 | $41,730 to $53,870 | 44,810 |
| Mississippi | $39,070 | $31,300 to $53,370 | 16,800 |
| Missouri | $46,480 | $38,150 to $58,520 | 32,850 |
| Montana | $44,940 | $37,540 to $48,520 | 1,510 |
| Nebraska | $45,470 | $39,410 to $49,750 | 7,240 |
| Nevada | $49,050 | $44,430 to $63,070 | 11,290 |
| New Hampshire | $46,940 | $40,580 to $55,600 | 6,130 |
| New Jersey | $37,620 | $33,240 to $45,790 | 22,270 |
| New Mexico | $39,340 | $35,430 to $46,400 | 1,550 |
| New York | $44,580 | $37,550 to $51,070 | 33,180 |
| North Carolina | $40,330 | $36,160 to $47,510 | 46,670 |
| North Dakota | $47,250 | $45,210 to $58,880 | 4,410 |
| Ohio | $45,720 | $37,550 to $51,960 | 93,480 |
| Oklahoma | $40,600 | $36,130 to $46,560 | 11,920 |
| Oregon | $46,910 | $40,380 to $52,190 | 11,120 |
| Pennsylvania | $44,160 | $36,650 to $50,400 | 57,780 |
| Puerto Rico | $24,610 | $23,040 to $28,620 | 12,850 |
| Rhode Island | $40,590 | $35,100 to $49,400 | 2,790 |
| South Carolina | $45,500 | $37,870 to $57,270 | 42,150 |
| South Dakota | $43,240 | $37,710 to $49,320 | 3,960 |
| Tennessee | $44,630 | $37,640 to $56,780 | 58,760 |
| Texas | $38,320 | $34,200 to $46,670 | 93,650 |
| Utah | $44,040 | $37,940 to $49,900 | 19,110 |
| Vermont | $43,980 | $38,020 to $48,540 | 1,380 |
| Virginia | $44,900 | $37,440 to $50,930 | 21,750 |
| Washington | $48,260 | $44,110 to $58,610 | 16,990 |
| West Virginia | $39,850 | $33,020 to $45,860 | 3,480 |
| Wisconsin | $45,670 | $39,370 to $50,230 | 46,360 |
| Wyoming | $40,720 | $33,720 to $51,220 | 1,200 |
Nationally: $44,650. State figures are for BLS's “Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators”. 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 2 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Perform quality checks on products and parts. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Review work orders and blueprints to ensure work is performed according to specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Rotate through all the tasks required in a particular production process. | Not published |
| Not much | Shovel, sweep, or otherwise clean work areas. | Not published |
| Not much | Supervise assemblers and train employees on job procedures. | Not published |
| AI + software | Determine work assignments and procedures. | under 0.01% |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Maintain production equipment and machinery. | Not published |
| AI + software | Complete production reports to communicate team production level to management. | Not published |
| Not much | Package finished products and prepare them for shipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Provide assistance in the production of wiring assemblies. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate machinery and heavy equipment, such as forklifts. | 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. 2 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 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Plan work activities | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Evaluate production inputs or outputs | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures |
Show all 11 activities
| Train others to use equipment or products | |||
| Package objects | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An analysis or summary29%
- A document or report12%
- Data or a spreadsheet10%
- A plan or strategy10%
- Advice or a recommendation7%
How they worked with Claude
61% 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 team assemblers 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 60,765 moves out
- 1 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
- 4 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 3%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 53,239 moves in
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
- 2 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
- 4 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
- 5 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 3%
Combined from the 2010 occupations “Team Assemblers” and “Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other”, which BLS merged into yours. 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
- 4% less than high school
- 81% high school
- 7% some college
- 1% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 26 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 15% less than high school
- 50% high school
- 20% some college
- 7% associate's
- 6% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other assemblers and fabricators” · 9,005 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 “Other assemblers and fabricators”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
5.6% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a certification | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
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 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIST; Production Technologist). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Team Assemblers” 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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