# First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

US SOC code 47-1011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/47-1011

Also called: Construction foreman, Site superintendent, Field supervisor construction, Construction superintendent, General foreman.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **812,210** US first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, with median pay of **$79,920** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c1567/c1567.pdf) of **45,000** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Smartphone + cloud-based project management, 2010 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-1011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **20%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1817
- Latest US employment: 812,210 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $79,920 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [12]
- Outlook: +5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### All 32 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1869 | n/a | $624 (estimate) | Est., PBS American Experience [7] |
| 1870 | 45,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NBER Historical Statistics [1] |
| 1900 | 90,000 | $780 (estimate) | Decennial Census 1900 (employment) [2]; Est., FRASER / St. Louis Fed (pay) [8] |
| 1940 | 120,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1940 [3] |
| 1950 | n/a | $4,600 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [9] |
| 1970 | 380,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [4] |
| 1980 | n/a | $23,000 (estimate) | Est., Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago [10] |
| 1990 | 560,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [5] |
| 2000 | n/a | $44,790 | BLS OEWS 2000 [11] |
| 2003 | 516,540 | $48,730 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [6] |
| 2004 | 542,440 | $50,450 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [6] |
| 2005 | 555,380 | $51,970 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [6] |
| 2006 | 574,870 | $53,850 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [6] |
| 2007 | 577,130 | $55,950 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [6] |
| 2008 | 577,390 | $58,140 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [6] |
| 2009 | 531,840 | $58,330 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [6] |
| 2010 | 474,510 | $58,680 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 459,830 | $59,150 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 456,640 | $59,700 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 467,130 | $60,380 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 496,370 | $60,990 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 517,560 | $62,070 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 538,220 | $62,980 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 556,300 | $64,070 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 598,210 | $65,230 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 626,180 | $66,210 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 614,080 | $67,840 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 665,870 | $72,010 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 720,900 | $74,080 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 777,420 | $76,760 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 806,080 | $78,690 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 812,210 | $79,920 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (86)

### Employment series

1. [NBER Historical Statistics -- Labor Force and Employment, 1800-1960 (Stanley Lebergott; construction occupation series)](https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c1567/c1567.pdf), National Bureau of Economic Research
2. [1900 Census: Special Reports: Occupations at the Twelfth Census (Table 4 -- Males 10 years of age and over engaged in selected occupations, by states)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/occupations/1900-census-occupations-5.pdf), US Census Bureau
3. [US Census Bureau -- Comparative Occupation Statistics 1870-1940 (Chapter 2, Population Occupation Volume, 1940 Census)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-occupation/00312147ch2.pdf), US Census Bureau
4. [BLS -- Current Employment Statistics survey: 100 years of employment, hours, and earnings (Monthly Labor Review, 2016; construction sector historical series)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/current-employment-statistics-survey-100-years-of-employment-hours-and-earnings.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. [BLS -- Construction and Extraction Occupations: Occupational Outlook Handbook (historical context section)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

7. [PBS American Experience -- Workers of the Central and Union Pacific Railroad (wages: laborers $27-35/month, foremen paid more than regular workers)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-workers-central-union-pacific-railroad/), PBS / American Experience
8. [FRASER / St. Louis Fed -- Union Wages and Hours in the Building Trades (BLS historical series, FRASER archive)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/union-wages-hours-building-trades-4200), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis / FRASER
9. [University of Missouri Libraries -- Prices and Wages by Decade: 1940-1949 (BLS Union Wages and Hours in the Building Trades references)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1940-1949), University of Missouri Libraries
10. [Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago -- "Understanding the (Relative) Rise and Fall of Construction Wages" (Chicago Fed Letter, July 2000)](https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2000/july-155), Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
11. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
13. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

14. [PBS American Experience -- Transcontinental Railroad: Workers of the Central and Union Pacific Railroad](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-workers-central-union-pacific-railroad/), PBS / American Experience
15. [Constructible / Trimble -- "A Brief History of the Construction Industry" (structural steel era, 1880s-1930s)](https://www.trimble.com/blog/construction/en-US/article/a-very-brief-history-of-the-construction-industry), Constructible / Trimble
16. [BLS -- "Current Employment Statistics survey: 100 years of employment, hours, and earnings" (construction sector historical series)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/current-employment-statistics-survey-100-years-of-employment-hours-and-earnings.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. [OSHA -- Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Construction Industry (worker fatality reduction 38 to 15 per day since 1970)](https://www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/quickstarts/construction), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
18. [OSHA -- OSHA Compliance in Construction: Who Oversees On-Site Compliance? (competent person standard)](https://ripusa.com/blog/osha-compliance-in-construction-who-oversees-on-site-compliance/), RIPS USA / OSHA compliance reference
19. [Procore -- Procore AI launch: history of Procore platform (Groundbreak 2024, November 2024)](https://www.procore.com/press/procore-launches-procore-ai-with-new-agents-to-boost-construction-management-efficiency), Procore Technologies
20. [Bridgit -- AI Construction Statistics 2026 (10-15% project time reduction; supervisors spanning 20-40% more sites)](https://gobridgit.com/blog/ai-construction-statistics/), Bridgit

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 47-1011 First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (2025: 913.3 thousand; 2035: 959.4 thousand; +5.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-1011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 47-1011.00, human-rated β 0.2)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

23. [Library of Congress -- This Month in Business History: Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad (Erie Canal context)](https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/may/completion-transcontinental-railroad), Library of Congress
24. [PBS American Experience -- Transcontinental Railroad: Workers of the Central and Union Pacific Railroad (Casement and Strobridge)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-workers-central-union-pacific-railroad/), PBS / American Experience
25. [Constructible / Trimble -- "A Brief History of the Construction Industry" (Home Insurance Building 1885, steel frame era)](https://www.trimble.com/blog/construction/en-US/article/a-very-brief-history-of-the-construction-industry), Constructible / Trimble
26. [BLS -- Current Employment Statistics survey: 100 years of employment, hours, and earnings (construction employment context, 1930s)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/current-employment-statistics-survey-100-years-of-employment-hours-and-earnings.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [OSHA -- Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Construction Industry (statutory context; 38 deaths per day in 1970)](https://www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/quickstarts/construction), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
28. [BLS -- "Construction employment peaks before the recession and is slow to recover" (Monthly Labor Review, April 2011)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art4full.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
29. [BLS -- Construction and Extraction Occupations Outlook 2024-34 (infrastructure investment context)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

30. [PBS American Experience -- Transcontinental Railroad Workers (gang boss organization, Erie Canal navvy tradition)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-workers-central-union-pacific-railroad/), PBS / American Experience
31. [Library of Congress -- Construction Unions research guide (building trades union structure: apprentice, journeyman, foreman progression)](https://guides.loc.gov/organized-labor/construction), Library of Congress

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-1011.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Bridgit — AI Construction Statistics 2026](https://gobridgit.com/blog/ai-construction-statistics/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [BLS — Construction and Extraction Occupations Outlook 2024-2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Procore — Procore AI launch (Groundbreak 2024, Nov 20 2024)](https://www.procore.com/press/procore-launches-procore-ai-with-new-agents-to-boost-construction-management-efficiency), accessed 2026-06-03
- [ENR — Gilbane rolls out Trunk Tools AI agents across 200+ jobsites (2025)](https://www.enr.com/articles/61435-gilbane-rolls-out-trunk-tools-ai-agents-across-its-jobsites), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Fyld — AI safety platform for construction (construction industry page)](https://fyld.ai/construction-industry), accessed 2026-06-03
- [AgentPMT — Construction AI adoption hits 37% as worker shortage grows (2026)](https://www.agentpmt.com/articles/construction-ai-adoption-hits-37-as-worker-shortage-grows), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Procore — Daily Log Agent automates field reporting from site data (Groundbreak 2024)](https://www.procore.com/press/procore-advances-the-future-of-construction-with-new-ai-innovations), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Procore — Procore AI: 10 submittals processed in one hour, saving 12 hours of work per Level 10 Construction case study](https://www.procore.com/ai), accessed 2026-06-22
- [Togal.AI — 98% accuracy on floor plan takeoffs; 5x faster than manual quantity takeoff methods](https://www.togal.ai/), accessed 2026-06-22
- [Trunk Tools — Product suite: TrunkSubmittal, TrunkRFI, TrunkReview agents](https://trunktools.com/product/), accessed 2026-06-03

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.