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AI exposure Production

Will AI replace patternmakers?

Patternmakers, Wood. US occupation 51-7032.

3.0%

of the time patternmakers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of patternmakers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 299 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 59% of them.Further along than 59% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for patternmakersWhat patternmakers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 20 tasks for patternmakers. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Compute dimensions, areas, volumes, and weights.Core task mostly automated 0.95

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

19 of the 20 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Collect and store patterns and lumber.Core task
  • Construct wooden models, templates, full scale mock-ups, jigs, or molds for shaping parts of products.Core task
  • Correct patterns to compensate for defects in castings.Core task
  • Divide patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.Core task
  • Estimate costs for patternmaking jobs.Core task
  • Finish completed products or models with shellac, lacquer, wax, or paint.Core task
Show the other 13
  • Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, and screws.Core task
  • Glue fillets along interior angles of patterns.Core task
  • Inventory equipment and supplies, ordering parts and tools as necessary.Core task
  • Lay out patterns on wood stock and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.Core task
  • Maintain pattern records for reference.Core task
  • Mark identifying information such as colors or codes on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods.Core task
  • Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.Core task
  • Repair broken or damaged patterns.Core task
  • Select lumber to be used for patterns.Core task
  • Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and lathes to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.Core task
  • Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.Core task
  • Verify dimensions of completed patterns, using templates, straightedges, calipers, or protractors.Core task
  • Issue patterns to designated machine operators.

How that compares

Among the 98 production occupations, patternmakers rank 13. The group averages 0.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at 12.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 297Dentists, General 3.1%
  2. 299First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 3.0%
  3. 299Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists 3.0%

Just below

  1. 304Construction Laborers 2.8%
  2. 304Driver/Sales Workers 2.8%
  3. 304Historians 2.8%

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.