# Painters, Construction and Maintenance

US SOC code 47-2141. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/47-2141

Also called: Painter, House painter, Commercial painter, Industrial painter, Maintenance painter.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **225,190** US construction and maintenance painters, with median pay of **$49,400** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **263,390**, in May 2006. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.iupat.org/about-the-iupat/our-history/) of **200,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The current technology era for construction and maintenance painters: Painting robots, since 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-2141&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **2.9%** 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)
- **0.75** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.75. BLS counted **192,890** of these jobs in May 2013 and **225,190** in May 2025 (+17%, a change derived by Future History).

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.

## Painters, Construction and Maintenance employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1887
- Latest US employment: 225,190 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $49,400 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: +3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [24]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 73112)
  - Employment, 2020: 38,795. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 73112 Painters and decorators (except interior decorators), Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$41,200. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [14]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 73112 Painters and decorators (except interior decorators), Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 200,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IUPAT [1] |
| 1920 | 290,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IUPAT [1] |
| 1940 | 250,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [2] |
| 1960 | 350,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [3] |
| 1980 | 420,000 (estimate) | $14,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [3] |
| 2000 | 261,040 | $27,250 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 247,880 | $29,360 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 249,560 | $30,260 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 249,850 | $30,800 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 263,390 | $31,190 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 260,260 | $32,080 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 250,310 | $32,960 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 214,240 | $33,720 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 189,840 | $34,280 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 184,820 | $35,430 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 184,330 | $35,190 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 192,890 | $35,390 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 204,600 | $35,950 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 213,330 | $36,580 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 217,280 | $37,570 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 221,340 | $37,960 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 228,420 | $38,940 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 232,760 | $40,280 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 217,880 | $42,130 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 214,220 | $45,590 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 215,680 | $46,090 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 215,910 | $47,700 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 224,180 | n/a | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 225,190 | $49,400 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (85)

### Employment series

1. [IUPAT — "Our History: Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America founded 1887, 7,000+ members in first year" (union membership baseline for non-union multiplier estimate)](https://www.iupat.org/about-the-iupat/our-history/), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
2. [BLS — Historical Statistics of the United States: Manpower and Employment (construction trades series, 1940s context)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1965/article/pdf/manpower-in-economic-growth.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Painters, Construction and Maintenance (historical employment context, 1960s era)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/painters-construction-and-maintenance.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. 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)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Painters, Construction and Maintenance (1980-81 edition wage context); inflation adjustment via BLS CPI-U calculator](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/painters-construction-and-maintenance.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. 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)
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

15. [IUPAT — "Our History: Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America founded 1887" (pre-organization painting trade context)](https://www.iupat.org/about-the-iupat/our-history/), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
16. [American Coatings Association — "History of the Paint Industry" (alkyd resin development 1928; transition from linseed-oil to synthetic binders)](https://www.paint.org/coatingstech-magazine/articles/coatings-industry-innovations-enable-energy-conservation/), American Coatings Association
17. [Wikipedia — "Latex paint" (water-based acrylic paint history: synthetic development from 1934, BASF first acrylic dispersion, commercial residential launch ~1948)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latex_paint), Wikipedia / multiple primary sources
18. [EPA — "Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program" (1978 federal ban on residential lead-based paint; contractor certification requirements)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-renovation-repair-and-painting-program), US Environmental Protection Agency
19. [OSHA — "Lead - Standards" (lead exposure standards for general industry, maritime, and construction workers; construction standard 29 CFR 1926.62)](https://www.osha.gov/lead/standards), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
20. [California Air Resources Board — "Architectural Coatings" (VOC regulations driving low-VOC paint mainstream adoption)](https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/coatings/architectural-coatings), California Air Resources Board
21. [Okibo — "EG7 Wall-Finishing Robot" (commercial deployments on major US construction sites; 1,000 sq ft/hour; residential/multifamily/office segments)](https://okibo.com/), Okibo
22. [Apellix — "Autonomous Drone Painting and Coating" (founded Jacksonville FL 2014; industrial coating for Saudi Aramco, Exelon, and similar clients; 3,000 sq ft/hour)](https://www.apellix.com/), Apellix
23. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance (2024-34 projections: +3.8% growth, 342,200 to 355,200)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-2141&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

24. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 47-2141 Painters, construction and maintenance (2025: 326.9 thousand; 2035: 336.7 thousand; +3.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-2141&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
25. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance: probability 0.75, rank 411 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
26. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 47-2141.00, human-rated β 0.029)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

27. [IUPAT — "Our History: Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America founded 1887, 7,000 members within first year"](https://www.iupat.org/about-the-iupat/our-history/), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
28. [American Coatings Association — "History of the Paint Industry" (alkyd resin development 1928; transition from natural to synthetic binders)](https://www.paint.org/coatingstech-magazine/articles/coatings-industry-innovations-enable-energy-conservation/), American Coatings Association
29. [Wikipedia — "Latex paint" (water-based acrylic commercial introduction ~1948; BASF synthetic acrylic dispersion 1934; residential latex launch)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latex_paint), Wikipedia / multiple primary sources
30. [EPA — "Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program" (1978 federal ban on residential lead-based paint; 1971 initial CPSC limits on lead in residential paint)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-renovation-repair-and-painting-program), US Environmental Protection Agency
31. [EPA — "Learn About Lead" (1978 federal lead-based paint ban for residential use; pre-1978 housing stock lead hazard)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead), US Environmental Protection Agency
32. [Okibo — "EG7 Wall-Finishing Robot: commercial deployments on major US construction sites, 1,000 sq ft/hour, residential/multifamily/office segments"](https://okibo.com/), Okibo

### Predecessors & successors

33. [IUPAT — "Our History: Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America founded 1887" (pre-organization itinerant craft context)](https://www.iupat.org/about-the-iupat/our-history/), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

### Present-day analysis

- [BLS OOH 2024-34 — Painters, Construction and Maintenance](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/painters-construction-and-maintenance.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Painters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-2141.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — 47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0998), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Construction Workforce Shortage 2025 — Academy of Craft Training](https://academyofcrafttraining.org/construction-workforce-shortage-2025/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CompanyCam — AI Photo Documentation for Contractors](https://companycam.com/ai-features), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CompanyCam — From Photos to Full Reports: Automating Daily Logs](https://companycam.com/resources/blog/from-photos-to-full-reports-how-to-use-ai-to-automate-daily-logs), accessed 2026-06-05
- [QuoteIQ — Top 10 AI Tools for Painting Contractors in 2026](https://myquoteiq.com/top-10-ai-tools-for-painting-contractors-in-2026/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SnapJobAI — Painting Contractor Software](https://snapjobai.com/painting-contractor-software), accessed 2026-06-05

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