Hands-on, growing
Construction labourer
69.9K UK workers · typical pay £29,000 · entry route GCSEs grades 4-9 (A*-C). Projected growth of +9% to 2035.
Facts · ONS + NCS
UK workers (2024)
69.9K
Median pay
£29.0K
Our scored call · a labelled hypothesis, not a measurement
AI exposure
1 / 10
Elasticity
6.5 / 10
2035 outlook
+9%
Exposure · 1/10
Why AI can do the work
Construction labourers perform physically demanding, manual tasks in unpredictable outdoor environments that are highly resistant to AI automation. While AI may improve site logistics or scheduling, the core work of digging, lifting, and manual assembly requires physical presence and dexterity that current robotics cannot cost-effectively replicate.
Elasticity · 6.5/10
Whether demand expands when it gets cheaper
Cheaper labor costs unlock a massive backlog of marginal infrastructure, renovation, and housing projects currently deemed financially unviable.
Trajectory to 2035
Headcount grows +9%, a Jevons-pattern curve.
Adoption scenario
×1.00 · Consensus
Change the scenario in the nav to reshape this curve.
Headcount projection · 2024 → 2035
Baseline 69.9K workers (2024) · % change vs baseline
Peak 2035 +9%2035 +9%
Peak headcount
2035
+9% vs 2024
2035 endpoint
+9%
75.9K workers
Time to −10%
–
Never crosses in model
Total wage pool
£2.0B
pay × jobs
Where this role lives
UK employment share by region, SOC-joined to 9129.
South East
10.7K · 12.3%
North West
10.5K · 12.1%
London
10.1K · 11.6%
West Midlands
9.8K · 11.3%
Scotland
9.7K · 11.2%
East
8.7K · 10%
Yorkshire and The Humber
6.4K · 7.4%
South West
5.4K · 6.2%
Gender split
Majority-male role (100.0% men).
0 women · 0%68.0K men · 100%
Career pivots · same category, higher elasticity
Five roles with transferable skills and better demand dynamics.
slug:
construction-labourer · dataset 2026.03 · CC-BY-4.0