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Rehabilitation Counselors

Community and Social Service · SOC 21-1015

0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$46,850
Median Annual Salary
Bright ↗
O*NET Outlook
14,000
Proj. Annual Openings
94,740
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-2.3%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 21-1015 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
0.0%
Low · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
58/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$46,850
H-1B offered wage $39,520; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
14,000
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +1.4%.
Observed/proxy demand
729
FY2025 certified LCAs; 22,452 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Active ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationMonitoring

Transition context

  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure4.1%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

37%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI35.5%
AI ability · AIOE75.6%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne0.9%

AI could do ~35.5% of this role but only ~0% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.

Top Skills

1.Active Listening
2.Speaking
3.Social Perceptiveness
4.Service Orientation
5.Monitoring

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

3,763
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
729
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$39,520
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#91 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.

Common titles: Employment Advisor, Employment Services Case Manager, Employment Specialist, Human Services Care Specialist, Job Coach, Rehabilitation Counselor

Representative Tasks

  • Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
  • Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
  • Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
  • Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
  • Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Maintain client records.
  • Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
  • Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
  • Assist clients in handling details of daily life.
  • Evaluate potential problems in home or work environments of clients.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotChart LinksClient information database softwareElectronic medical record EMR softwareEmail softwareFanatic Software InformantMicrosoft Internet ExplorerMicrosoft Mobile Explorer MMEMicrosoft Office Outlook

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

12
Occupations Shown
5.2%
Avg AI Exposure
9
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 21-1015: 2019 — employment: 109,040, median wage: $35,950; 2020 — employment: 100,260, median wage: $37,530; 2021 — employment: 90,310, median wage: $38,560; 2022 — employment: 82,420, median wage: $39,990; 2023 — employment: 84,750, median wage: $44,040; 2025 — employment: 94,740, median wage: $46,850.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure0.0%4.1%
OutlookBright ↗75% Bright
Median Salary$46,850N/A
AI Resiliency100/100N/A