Work Environment
Hand laborers and material movers held about 6.2 million jobs in 2020. 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 - 2,821,700
- Stockers and order fillers - 2,223,000
- Packers and packagers, hand - 599,700
- Cleaners of vehicles and equipment - 367,200
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors - 140,500
- Machine feeders and offbearers - 63,000
The largest employers of hand laborers and material movers were as follows:
- Transportation and warehousing - 21%
- Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services - 14%
- Wholesale trade - 12%
- Manufacturing - 11%
Hand 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.
Job Outlook
Overall employment of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 941,100 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
The COVID-19 pandemic, and recovery from it, have affected these occupations by creating an increased demand for packaging activities. Projected employment change will vary by occupation.
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 nearly all 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 growth in online orders will increase the demand for stockers and order fillers to prepare orders for pickup or delivery. However, the use of technology, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, which allows stockers and order fillers to quickly locate an item or count inventory in some retail stores, is expected to limit employment growth in this occupation.
As the population grows, the amount of trash generated also is expected to increase; consequently, refuse and recyclable material collectors will be needed to remove trash.
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 and, if it expands, will limit the need for workers there.
Earnings
The median annual wage for hand laborers and material movers was $30,320 in May 2021. 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 $23,560, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $46,930.
Median annual wages for hand laborers and material movers in May 2021 were as follows:
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors - $38,500
- Machine feeders and offbearers - $37,010
- Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand - $31,230
- Stockers and order fillers - $30,110
- Packers and packagers, hand - $29,940
- Cleaners of vehicles and equipment - $29,280
In May 2021, the median annual wages for hand laborers and material movers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
- Transportation and warehousing - $36,590
- Wholesale trade - $36,050
- Manufacturing - $35,990
- Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services - $29,920
Some 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.
