Packers and Packagers, Hand
Also called: Bagger, Packager, Packer, Selector PackerPack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 12 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 5.0% 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, 9.4% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.1 hires for every 10 job openings in retail trade, which employs about 26% 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.9.1 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 | $31,770 | $26,760 to $37,300 | 7,050 |
| Alaska | $41,670 | $34,960 to $47,010 | 560 |
| Arizona | $37,060 | $32,970 to $42,730 | 7,380 |
| Arkansas | $33,930 | $30,920 to $36,840 | 3,050 |
| California | $37,260 | $35,290 to $42,420 | 79,730 |
| Colorado | $40,730 | $37,850 to $46,580 | 4,120 |
| Connecticut | $35,890 | $34,430 to $39,470 | 4,280 |
| Delaware | $37,290 | $36,170 to $40,000 | 2,030 |
| District of Columbia | $40,910 | $37,140 to $43,990 | 170 |
| Florida | $28,280 | $27,600 to $34,640 | 38,860 |
| Georgia | $33,260 | $27,840 to $37,900 | 17,380 |
| Guam | $21,030 | $20,860 to $22,030 | 240 |
| Hawaii | $35,930 | $30,140 to $42,830 | 2,010 |
| Idaho | $36,920 | $28,660 to $42,950 | 2,020 |
| Illinois | $36,090 | $34,230 to $40,020 | 23,270 |
| Indiana | $37,420 | $33,430 to $43,850 | 9,690 |
| Iowa | $37,470 | $33,260 to $43,010 | 4,090 |
| Kansas | $44,460 | $38,020 to $44,570 | 9,900 |
| Kentucky | $36,850 | $33,090 to $45,250 | 5,900 |
| Louisiana | $27,710 | $21,860 to $36,660 | 2,280 |
| Maine | $36,330 | $30,660 to $41,930 | 1,460 |
| Maryland | $35,860 | $33,220 to $40,020 | 4,230 |
| Massachusetts | $34,200 | $32,520 to $37,360 | 15,330 |
| Michigan | $35,340 | $31,270 to $37,970 | 15,590 |
| Minnesota | $40,310 | $36,650 to $46,950 | 5,460 |
| Mississippi | $33,240 | $27,060 to $35,780 | 3,490 |
| Missouri | $37,670 | $33,440 to $40,240 | 5,910 |
| Montana | $34,960 | $28,730 to $43,200 | 1,490 |
| Nebraska | $38,880 | $35,630 to $45,910 | 3,010 |
| Nevada | $37,400 | $34,950 to $41,600 | 3,750 |
| New Hampshire | $30,700 | $29,400 to $34,610 | 3,300 |
| New Jersey | $43,840 | $36,030 to $44,930 | 71,260 |
| New Mexico | $28,070 | $26,160 to $35,590 | 1,050 |
| New York | $37,260 | $34,230 to $43,360 | 14,830 |
| North Carolina | $34,360 | $29,130 to $39,040 | 19,600 |
| North Dakota | $31,440 | $26,890 to $39,640 | 470 |
| Ohio | $37,000 | $32,370 to $40,800 | 20,700 |
| Oklahoma | $34,520 | $28,190 to $40,240 | 3,900 |
| Oregon | $36,190 | $33,700 to $40,170 | 6,370 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,960 | $33,640 to $42,380 | 22,990 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,840 | $21,840 to $22,050 | 3,840 |
| Rhode Island | $36,730 | $31,480 to $44,570 | 1,830 |
| South Carolina | $32,180 | $27,660 to $37,860 | 7,610 |
| South Dakota | $28,760 | $27,980 to $36,120 | 1,040 |
| Tennessee | $35,980 | $30,470 to $40,460 | 14,030 |
| Texas | $33,090 | $28,330 to $37,190 | 46,510 |
| Utah | $36,060 | $30,640 to $39,840 | 5,740 |
| Vermont | $39,440 | $36,460 to $43,640 | 810 |
| Virgin Islands | $22,880 | $21,960 to $27,200 | 100 |
| Virginia | $35,000 | $29,360 to $39,950 | 7,790 |
| Washington | $39,220 | $35,880 to $45,310 | 11,940 |
| West Virginia | $28,740 | $27,660 to $36,670 | 1,140 |
| Wisconsin | $36,010 | $31,300 to $43,250 | 13,130 |
| Wyoming | $32,110 | $28,250 to $36,340 | 340 |
Nationally: $36,280. 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 12 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure, weigh, and count products and materials. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Mark and label containers, container tags, or products, using marking tools. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records. | Not published |
| Not much | Assemble, line, and pad cartons, crates, and containers, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean containers, materials, supplies, or work areas, using cleaning solutions and hand tools. | Not published |
See all 12 tasks
| Not much | Seal containers or materials, using glues, fasteners, nails, and hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Obtain, move, and sort products, materials, containers, and orders, using hand tools. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Remove completed or defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment, such as conveyors, or in specified areas, such as loading docks. | Not published |
| Not much | Load materials and products into package processing equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Place or pour products or materials into containers, using hand tools and equipment, or fill containers from spouts or chutes. | Not published |
| Not much | Transport packages to customers' vehicles. | 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 12 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 12 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Sort materials or products | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas |
Show all 11 activities
| Mark materials or objects for identification | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Maintain operational records |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer32%
- Configuration or infrastructure16%
- Data or a spreadsheet8%
- Math or a calculation8%
- An analysis or summary5%
How they worked with Claude
35% 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 packers and packagers, hand 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 38,581 moves out
- 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 6%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 4 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
- 5 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 33,220 moves in
- 1 Cashiers High -6.5% 8%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 8%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 6%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 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
- 33% less than high school
- 54% high school
- 14% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 23 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 28% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 17% some college
- 5% associate's
- 6% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 4,464 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 this occupation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
2.3% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
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
- 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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