### Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Hand Laborers and Material Movers Summary
                        
            
                                                        
                                                                
                        
            
            
            
                            
                                                
                                                
                                                
                                                
            						
							
				                                                
                                            




            			hand laborers and material movers imageMany hand laborers pack and transfer materials around a warehouse.							
						Quick Facts:     Hand Laborers and Material Movers2023     Median Pay
            						$36,770     per year
										$17.68     per hourTypical Entry-Level Education
                                    See How to Become OneWork Experience in a Related Occupation
                                    NoneOn-the-job Training
                                    Short-term on-the-job trainingNumber of Jobs, 2022
                                    7,099,400Job Outlook, 2022-32
                                    5% (Faster than average)Employment Change, 2022-32
                                    353,400What Hand Laborers and Material Movers Do
                                                
                        
                        
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials.
            
                        Work Environment
                        
Most hand laborers and material movers work full time. Because materials are shipped around the clock, some workers, especially those in warehousing, work overnight shifts.
            
                                                How to Become a Hand Laborer or Material Mover
                                                
                        
There are usually no formal educational requirements to become a hand laborer or material mover. Employers typically require only that applicants be physically able to perform the work.
            
                        Pay
                        												                            																				    														The median annual wage for hand laborers and material movers was $36,770 in May 2023.									                                					
						
            
                        Job Outlook
                        						
												Overall employment							of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow							 5 percent from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.
						About 1,075,800 openings for hand laborers and material movers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
            			
            			 Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
						State & Area Data
                       Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for hand laborers and material movers.
            
            
						
                        Similar Occupations
                        
                                                    Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of hand laborers and material movers with similar occupations.
            
            
                        More Information, Including Links to O*NET
                        
                                               
                        Learn more about hand laborers and material movers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
 What Hand Laborers and Material Movers Do 
            

			Laborers and material moversSome vehicle and equipment cleaners wash cars.			
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. Some of these workers feed or remove material to or from machines, clean vehicles, pick up unwanted household goods, and pack materials for moving.
Duties
Hand laborers and material movers typically do the following:
Manually move material from one place to another
Pack or wrap products by hand
Keep a record of the material they move
Signal machine operators to help move material
Clean cars, equipment, and workplacesIn warehouses and in wholesale and retail operations, hand laborers and material movers work closely with material moving machine operators and material recording clerks. Some workers are employed in manufacturing industries, loading material onto conveyor belts or other machines.
The following are examples of types of hand laborers and material movers:
***Cleaners of vehicles and equipment*** wash automobiles and other vehicles, as well as storage tanks, pipelines, and related machinery. They use cleaning products, vacuums, hoses, and brushes. Most of these workers clean cars at a carwash, an automobile dealership, or a rental agency. Some clean industrial equipment at manufacturing firms. Some—for example, those who work at a carwash, also known as carwash attendants—interact with customers.
***Hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers*** move materials to and from storage and production areas, loading docks, delivery trucks, ships, and containers. Although their specific duties may vary, most of these movers, often called *pickers*, work in warehouses. Some workers retrieve products from storage and move them to loading areas. Other workers load and unload cargo from a truck. When moving a package, pickers keep track of the package number, sometimes with a hand-held scanner, to ensure proper delivery. Sometimes they open containers and sort the material.
***Hand packers and packagers*** package a variety of materials by hand. They may label cartons, inspect items for defects, and keep records of items packed. Some of these workers pack materials for shipment and move them to a loading dock. Hand packers in grocery stores, also known as grocery baggers, bag groceries for customers at checkout.
***Machine feeders and offbearers*** process materials by feeding them into equipment or by removing them from equipment. The equipment is generally operated by other workers, such as material moving machine operators. Machine feeders and offbearers help the operator if the machine becomes jammed or needs minor repairs. Machine feeders also track the amount of material they process during a shift.
***Refuse and recyclable material collectors*** gather garbage and recyclables from homes and businesses to transport to a dump, landfill, or recycling center. Many collectors lift garbage cans by hand and empty them into their truck. Some collectors drive the garbage or recycling truck along a scheduled route and may use a hydraulic lift to empty the contents of a dumpster into the truck.
***Stockers and order fillers*** receive, unpack, and track merchandise. Stock clerks move products from a warehouse to store shelves. They keep a record of items that enter or leave the stockroom and inspect for damaged goods. These clerks also use handheld radio frequency identification (RFID) scanners to keep track of merchandise. Order fillers retrieve customer orders and prepare them to be shipped.
 Work Environment
			Laborers and material moversRefuse and recyclable material collectors lift heavy garbage containers.			

	    
				
	
	    	    		Hand laborers and material movers held about 7.1 million jobs in 2022. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up hand laborers and material movers was distributed as follows:
    	    	
    	Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
                2,988,500Stockers and order fillers
                2,851,600Packers and packagers, hand
                659,600Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
                401,800Refuse and recyclable material collectors
                146,400Machine feeders and offbearers
                51,500The largest employers of hand laborers and material movers were as follows:
        Retail trade
                33%Transportation and warehousing
                22Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services
                14Wholesale trade
                10Manufacturing
                10Hand laborers and material movers lift and carry heavy objects, and their work is usually repetitive and physically demanding. They bend, kneel, crouch, or crawl in awkward positions.
Injuries and Illnesses
Hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers and refuse and recyclable material collectors have some of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Moving heavy objects around warehouses or onto trucks, or bending while cleaning a vehicle, may lead to sprains, strains, or overexertion.
Work Schedules
Most hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers work full time.
Shifts longer than 8 hours are common, and sometimes overtime is available. Because materials are shipped around the clock, some workers, especially those in warehousing, work overnight shifts.
 How to Become a Hand Laborer or Material Mover

			Laborers and material moversHand laborers and material movers learn on the job.			
There are usually no formal educational requirements to become a hand laborer or material mover. Employers typically require only that applicants be physically able to perform the work.
Education
There are no formal educational requirements to become a hand laborer or material mover.
Training
Most positions for hand laborers and material movers require less than 1 month of on-the-job training. Some workers need only a few days of training, and most training is done by a supervisor or a more experienced worker who decides when trainees are ready to work on their own.
Workers learn safety rules as part of their training. Many of these rules are standardized through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
Refuse and recyclable material collectors who drive trucks that exceed a certain capacity—such as vehicles with the combined weight of the vehicle, passengers, and cargo exceeding 26,000 pounds—must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Obtaining a CDL requires passing written, skill, and vision tests.
Important Qualities
***Customer-service skills.*** Hand laborers and material movers who work with the public, such as grocery baggers or carwash attendants, must be pleasant and courteous to customers.
***Hand–eye coordination.*** Most hand laborers and material movers use their arms and hands to manipulate objects or move objects into specific positions.
***Listening skills.*** Hand laborers and material movers follow instructions that a supervisor gives them.
***Physical stamina.*** Hand laborers and material movers need the endurance to perform strenuous tasks, such as moving or cleaning objects, throughout the day.
***Physical strength.*** Some hand laborers and material movers must be able to lift and carry heavy objects.
 Pay

			



	
 
                                                     
            
    
                Hand Laborers and Material MoversMedian annual wages, May 2023Total, all occupations$48,060  Material moving workers$37,290  Hand laborers and material movers$36,770Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
 

	
	



		
	
	
	
The median annual wage for hand laborers and material movers was $36,770 in May 2023. 


The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $28,810, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $49,640.

			
                    	Median annual wages for hand laborers and material movers in May 2023 were as follows:
        Refuse and recyclable material collectors
		$45,760Machine feeders and offbearers
		39,250Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
		37,660Stockers and order fillers
		36,390Packers and packagers, hand
		34,830Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
		34,150In May 2023, the median annual wages for hand laborers and material movers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:	
        Transportation and warehousing
                $40,100Manufacturing
                38,540Wholesale trade
                38,460Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services
                35,230Retail trade
                34,750Some hand laborers and material movers, such as grocery baggers or carwash attendants, may receive tips.
Most hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers work full time.
Shifts longer than 8 hours are common, and sometimes overtime is available. Because materials are shipped around the clock, some workers, especially those in warehousing, work overnight shifts.
 Job Outlook

   
        
    
          
        
    
               Hand Laborers and Material MoversPercent change in employment, projected 2022-32Material moving workers5%  Hand laborers and material movers5%  Total, all occupations3%Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program
            
            
			 
	
	
	

			Overall employment				of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow				 5 percent from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.
			
			About 1,075,800 openings for hand laborers and material movers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
			
			 Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
			Employment
	
			
Projected employment of hand laborers and material movers varies by occupation (see table).
Some warehouses have installed equipment, such as high-speed conveyors and sorting systems, to increase efficiency. However, hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers will still be needed to move materials in many sectors of the economy. Machine feeders and offbearers will be needed to supply materials into or remove materials from equipment that is automated or tended by other workers.
The continued growth in e-commerce will create an increased demand for packaging activities, supporting the demand for stockers and order fillers to prepare orders for pickup or delivery. In addition, some stores may require more workers to handle orders for pickup. However, companies are expanding the use of automated storage and retrieval tools, such as scanners and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, in response to rising demand for products. These technologies will increase productivity for some of the manual tasks performed by stockers and order fillers, which may partly offset fast employment growth.
As the population grows, the amount of trash generated also is expected to increase. Refuse and recyclable material collectors will be needed to remove the trash, but efficiencies created by automation and improved routing will constrain employment growth.
Demand for automotive repair and maintenance services is expected to contribute to employment growth of cleaners of vehicles and equipment.
Grocery stores, which employ many hand packers and packagers, may employ fewer baggers as a growing number of stores have self-checkout stands at which customers or existing cashiers bag groceries themselves. Automation is becoming more viable in warehouses, limiting the need for workers there.
			

                        Employment projections data for     hand laborers and material movers, 2022-32
                Occupational Title
                        SOC Code
                        Employment, 2022
                        Projected Employment, 2032
                        Change, 2022-32
                        Employment by IndustryPercent
                        NumericSOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program**Hand laborers and material movers**
			—
			7,099,400
			7,452,800
			5
			353,400
			—**Cleaners of vehicles and equipment**
			53-7061
			401,800
			416,800
			4
			15,000
			Get data**Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand**
			53-7062
			2,988,500
			3,147,300
			5
			158,800
			Get data**Machine feeders and offbearers**
			53-7063
			51,500
			54,300
			6
			2,800
			Get data**Packers and packagers, hand**
			53-7064
			659,600
			652,900
			-1
			-6,600
			Get data**Stockers and order fillers**
			53-7065
			2,851,600
			3,030,300
			6
			178,600
			Get data**Refuse and recyclable material collectors**
			53-7081
			146,400
			151,100
			3
			4,700
			Get data
 State & Area Data **Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OES data maps for employment and wages by state and area. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
					Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
					Machine feeders and offbearers
					Packers and packagers, hand
					Refuse and recyclable material collectors
					Stockers and order fillers **Projections Central** Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.com. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved. **CareerOneStop** CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.
 Similar Occupations This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of hand laborers and material movers. Occupation
                Job Duties
                ENTRY-LEVEL EDUCATION
                2023     MEDIAN PAY**Construction Laborers and Helpers**
            Construction laborers and helpers perform tasks, such as using, supplying, or holding materials or tools and cleaning work areas and equipment, on construction sites.
            See How to Become One
            $44,310**Delivery Truck Drivers and Driver/Sales Workers**
            Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers pick up, transport, and drop off packages and small shipments within a local region or urban area.
            High school diploma or equivalent
            $39,950**Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers**
            Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers transport goods from one location to another.
            Postsecondary nondegree award
            $54,320**Material Moving Machine Operators**
            Material moving machine operators use equipment to transport objects.
            See How to Become One
            $44,750**Material Recording Clerks**
            Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule.
            High school diploma or equivalent
            $44,210**Water Transportation Workers**
            Water transportation workers operate and maintain vessels that take cargo and people over water.
            See How to Become One
            $64,930
 Contacts for More Information
								
For more information about hand laborers and material movers, visit
MHI
Warehousing Education and Research Council

                                                
                                                        
                                                                                                    O*NET
                                        Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentLaborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandMachine Feeders and OffbearersPackers and Packagers, HandRecycling and Reclamation WorkersRefuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsStockers and Order Fillers
 Suggested citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.  Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Hand Laborers and Material Movers, 
        	 at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/hand-laborers-and-material-movers.htm (visited *May 21, 2024*).
 **Last Modified Date:**
                        Wednesday, April 17, 2024


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