# Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

US SOC code 47-3015. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/47-3015

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **44,330** US helpers of pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, with median pay of **$42,360** a year. By the method BLS used before May 2021, the highest count from 2003 to 2020 was **83,380**, in May 2007. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Association) of **6,700** from 1893, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: BIM coordination tools and press-fit connections, 2000 to 2018.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-3015&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **0.57** 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) (Official statistic)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.57. BLS counted **47,160** of these jobs in May 2013 and **44,330** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here. Figures: Official statistic.

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.

## Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1889
- Latest US employment: 44,330 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $42,360 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +2.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [10]

### All 31 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1893 | 6,700 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1931 | n/a | $1,200 (average) | BLS historical bulletin [4] |
| 1933 | 26,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1947 | n/a | $2,800 (average) | BLS historical bulletin [4] |
| 1954 | 240,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1970 | n/a | $6,500 (average) | BLS historical bulletin [4] |
| 1971 | 320,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1990 | 50,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1990 [2] |
| 2003 | 77,580 | $22,400 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 74,820 | $22,360 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 77,630 | $22,820 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 81,510 | $23,910 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 83,380 | $25,350 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 79,870 | $26,480 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 68,270 | $26,850 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 57,660 | $26,740 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 51,420 | $27,010 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 46,510 | $26,670 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 47,160 | $27,430 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 51,350 | $27,710 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 55,530 | $28,500 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 54,080 | $29,030 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 54,790 | $29,890 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 54,710 | $30,980 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 58,400 | $32,100 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 55,740 | $33,590 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 45,930 | $35,720 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 46,760 | $36,340 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 45,300 | $37,650 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 43,640 | $39,270 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 44,330 | $42,360 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (62)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia -- United Association (founding membership history, 1893 figure)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Association), Wikipedia / United Association historical records
2. [IPUMS USA -- Occupation and Industry Codes, 1990 Census (plumbing helper category documentation)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. 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

4. [BLS, Union Wages and Hours: Building Trades (Bulletin of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), via FRASER](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/union-wages-hours-building-trades-4200), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (FRASER, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
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)

### Tool eras

6. [Wikipedia -- Plumbing (lead pipe history, oakum caulking, Victorian pipe materials)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing), Wikipedia
7. [Wikipedia -- United Association (founding 1889, original trade scope covering lead-pipe and steam-fitting work)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Association), Wikipedia
8. [Wikipedia -- Building information modeling (BIM adoption in construction, 2000s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_information_modeling), Wikipedia
9. [O\*NET 47-3015.00 -- Work context: tools and technology used by helpers in the pipe trades (current)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-3015.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Forecasts and exposure studies

10. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 47-3015 Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (2025: 45.3 thousand; 2035: 46.4 thousand; +2.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-3015&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 47-3015 Helpers–Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters: probability 0.57, rank 320 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

### Historical notes

12. [Wikipedia -- United Association (founding October 11, 1889; original full name; 1893 membership)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Association), Wikipedia
13. [Wikipedia -- Davis-Bacon Act (signed March 3, 1931; prevailing wage requirement on federal construction)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis%E2%80%93Bacon_Act), Wikipedia
14. [Wikipedia -- Plumbing (1986: lead banned in plumbing solder for drinking water under Safe Drinking Water Act amendments)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing), Wikipedia
15. [O\*NET 47-3015.00 -- employment history reflecting 2008-2009 construction contraction (current data context)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-3015.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Predecessors & successors

16. [Wikipedia -- United Association (founding 1889; pipe trades helpers drawn from construction day-labor pool)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Association), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

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