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Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Construction and Extraction · SOC 47-2171
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$58,970
Median Annual Salary
Bright ↗
O*NET Outlook
2,500
Proj. Annual Openings
13,800
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-5.1%/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 47-2171 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
- $58,970
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 2,500
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +4.6%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 3,195 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
CoordinationCritical ThinkingMonitoringOperation and ControlJudgment and Decision Making
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. Exposure1.2%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
7.9%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI7.1%
AI ability · AIOE16.6%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne90%
Top Skills
1.Coordination
2.Critical Thinking
3.Monitoring
4.Operation and Control
5.Judgment and Decision Making
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
Common titles: Field Ironworker, Iron Installer, Iron Worker, Ironworker, Reinforced Ironworker, Rodbuster
Representative Tasks
- •Determine quantities, sizes, shapes, and locations of reinforcing rods from blueprints, sketches, or oral instructions.
- •Space and fasten together rods in forms according to blueprints, using wire and pliers.
- •Position and secure steel bars, rods, cables, or mesh in concrete forms, using fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, or hand tools.
- •Cut rods to required lengths, using metal shears, hacksaws, bar cutters, or acetylene torches.
- •Place blocks under rebar to hold the bars off the deck when reinforcing floors.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Review blueprints or specifications to determine work requirements.
- •Position structural components.
- •Install fencing or other barriers.
- •Install metal structural components.
- •Cut metal components for installation.
Tools & Technologies
Application Software SHEARApplied Systems Associates aSa RebarOTP ArmaCADRebarWin
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
1.2%
Avg AI Exposure
12
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
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 47-2171: 2019 — employment: 18,870, median wage: $49,100; 2020 — employment: 18,680, median wage: $49,390; 2021 — employment: 16,420, median wage: $48,830; 2022 — employment: 17,270, median wage: $51,070; 2023 — employment: 17,400, median wage: $54,850; 2025 — employment: 13,800, median wage: $58,970.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 1.2% |
| Outlook | Bright ↗ | 70% Bright |
| Median Salary | $58,970 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |