AI exposure Construction and extraction
Will AI replace floor layers?
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles. US occupation 47-2042.
The reading
0.0%
of the time floor layers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of floor layers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.
Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.
What AI already does for floor layersWhat floor layers no longer do alone
O*NET lists 14 tasks for floor layers. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
14 of the 14 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Apply adhesive cement to floor or wall material to join and adhere foundation material.Core task
- Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.Core task
- Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions.Core task
- Determine traffic areas and decide location of seams.Core task
- Disconnect and remove appliances, light fixtures, and worn floor and wall covering from floors, walls, and cabinets.Core task
- Form a smooth foundation by stapling plywood or Masonite over the floor or by brushing waterproof compound onto surface and filling cracks with plaster, putty, or grout to seal pores.Core task
Show the other 8
- Heat and soften floor covering materials to patch cracks or fit floor coverings around irregular surfaces, using blowtorch.Core task
- Inspect surface to be covered to ensure that it is firm and dry.Core task
- Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs.Core task
- Measure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers.Core task
- Remove excess cement to clean finished surface.Core task
- Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller.Core task
- Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering.Core task
- Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint.Core task
How that compares
Among the 56 construction and extraction occupations, floor layers rank 22. The group averages 0.4%, and its most exposed job is Structural Iron and Steel Workers at 4.9%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.
Level with 0.0%
What this does and does not mean
Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.
A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.
Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.