Construction Laborers
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.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Coordination
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Design
- Mathematics
What the work involves
- Clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards.
- Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
- Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
- Dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes.
- Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
- Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.
- Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
- Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (34.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (43.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (57.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Construction Laborers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 63% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 89% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 59% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 92% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 70% of occupations compared | 83% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 60% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 83% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.21%
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.2%
- Contact with others most of the time: 38.33%
- Constant contact with others: 58.27%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 47.4%
- Fairly important: 23.74%
- Important: 7.47%
- Very important: 3.41%
- Extremely important: 17.98%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 18.78%
- Very important: 46.34%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 15.95%
- Limited freedom: 33.61%
- Some freedom: 49.8%
- A lot of freedom: 0.64%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.25%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.94%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 82.57%
- Every day: 14.23%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.38%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.39%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.95%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 16.09%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.6%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 41.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 7.07%
- Every day: 18.51%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0.33%
- Fairly serious: 12.66%
- Serious: 31.89%
- Very serious: 17.05%
- Extremely serious: 38.07%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 47-2061.00 · SOC 47-2061 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8