OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers. Construction laborers who primarily assist a particular craft worker are classified under "Helpers, Construction Trades" (47-3010).
Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Construction laborers and helpers typically do the following:
- Clean and prepare construction sites by removing debris and possible hazards
- Load or unload building materials to be used in construction
- Build or take apart bracing, scaffolding, and temporary structures
- Dig trenches, backfill holes, or compact earth to prepare for construction
- Operate or tend equipment and machines used in construction
- Follow construction plans and instructions from supervisors or more experienced workers
- Assist craftworkers with their duties
Construction laborers and helpers work on almost all construction sites, performing a wide range of tasks varying in complexity from very easy to extremely difficult and hazardous.
Construction laborers, also referred to as construction craft laborers, perform a wide variety of construction-related activities during all phases of construction. Many laborers spend their time preparing and cleaning up construction sites, using tools such as shovels and brooms. Other workers, such as those on road crews, may specialize and learn to control traffic patterns and operate pavement breakers, jackhammers, earth tampers, or surveying equipment.
With special training, laborers may help transport and use explosives or run hydraulic boring machines to dig out tunnels. They may learn to use lasers to place pipes and to use computers to control robotic pipe cutters. They may become certified to remove asbestos, lead, or chemicals.
Helpers assist construction craftworkers, such as electricians and carpenters, with a variety of tasks. They may carry tools and materials or help set up equipment. For example, many helpers work with cement masons to move and set the forms that determine the shape of poured concrete. Many other helpers assist with taking apart equipment, cleaning up sites, and disposing of waste, as well as helping with any other needs of craftworkers.
Many construction trades have helpers who assist craftworkers. The following trades have associated helpers:
- Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons, and tile and marble setters
- Carpenters
- Electricians
- Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons
- Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Roofers
Salary
Median salary: $37,890 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $30,690 and $50,330.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for construction laborers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Construction Laborers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of construction laborers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Time Pressure (97%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (84%)
- Hazardous Equipment (84%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (62%)
- Consequence of Error (55%)
- Exposed to Whole Body Vibration (48%)
- Hazardous Conditions (37%)
- Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites (34%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Construction Laborers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Color vision
Construction laborers and helpers may need to be able to distinguish colors to do their job. For example, an electrician’s helper must be able to distinguish different colors of wire to help the lead electrician.
Math skills
Construction laborers and some helpers need to perform basic math calculations while measuring on jobsites or assisting a surveying crew.
Mechanical skills
Construction laborers are frequently required to operate and maintain equipment, such as jackhammers.
Physical stamina
Construction laborers and helpers must have the endurance to perform strenuous tasks throughout the day. Highway laborers, for example, spend hours on their feet—often in hot temperatures—with few breaks.
Physical strength
Construction laborers and helpers must often lift heavy materials or equipment. For example, cement mason helpers must move cinder blocks, which typically weigh more than 40 pounds each.
Injury and Illness
About 231 construction laborers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 95% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Fractures
Chemical burns and corrosions
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by construction laborers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), construction laborers typically hold no formal educational credential.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as construction laborers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for construction laborers
Although formal education is not typically required for most positions, helpers of electricians and helpers of pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters typically need a high school diploma. High school classes in mathematics, blueprint reading, welding, and other vocational subjects can be helpful.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for construction laborers
Laborers who remove hazardous materials (hazmat) must meet the federal and state requirements for hazardous materials removal workers.
Depending on the work they do, laborers may need specific certifications, which may be attained through LIUNA. Rigging and scaffold building are commonly attained certifications. Certification can help workers prove that they have the knowledge to perform more complex tasks.
Education level of Construction Laborers
Only 5% of construction laborers have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by construction laborers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Construction Laborers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most construction laborers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as construction laborers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where construction laborers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for construction laborers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for construction laborers.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which construction laborers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Construction Laborers (ACS)
Employment
16% of Construction laborers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 16% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 59% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of construction laborers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Construction laborers and gender
With 3% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 91% of careers.
Gender of Construction laborers
Men (97%)
Women (3%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%.
The situation is a little better for construction laborers, with the
median salary for men 8%
higher than the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Construction laborers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Construction laborers.
Race/origin of construction laborers
White (71% )
Other (15% )
Black (7% )
Hispanic (2% )
Multiracial (2% )
Asian (2% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
