# Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment

US SOC code 49-2094. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-2094

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **65,010** US commercial and industrial equipment electrical and electronics repairers, with median pay of **$74,090** a year. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Training_Program) of **30,000** from 1945, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: SCADA systems, 1990 to 2015. SCADA and CMMS reduced emergency-breakdown events (the most labor-intensive scenario) by improving predictive maintenance coverage.

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

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (+0.3%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2094&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **0.41** 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 0.41. BLS counted **67,410** of these jobs in May 2013 and **65,010** in May 2025 (-4%, a change derived by Future History). 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.

## Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1941
- Latest US employment: 65,010 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $74,090 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +0.3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [16]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1945 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1960 | 85,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1960 [2] |
| 1980 | 73,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS Office of Survey Methods Research… [3] |
| 1999 | 71,530 | n/a | BLS OEWS 1999 [4] |
| 2003 | 83,820 | $42,200 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 71,300 | $42,600 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 69,620 | $44,120 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 78,570 | $45,180 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 79,150 | $47,110 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 77,270 | $48,430 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 72,520 | $50,730 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 67,550 | $51,820 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 67,220 | $52,320 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 66,440 | $52,650 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 67,410 | $53,400 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 65,900 | $54,640 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 69,290 | $55,690 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 67,390 | $56,250 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 64,380 | $57,190 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 59,520 | $58,110 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 58,930 | $59,300 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 55,200 | $62,010 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 50,780 | $61,730 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 51,650 | $64,030 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 58,320 | $66,680 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 59,990 | $71,300 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 65,010 | $74,090 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (70)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia: Electronics Training Program (US Navy ETP, 1942-1945, approximately 30,000 graduates)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Training_Program), Wikipedia
2. [BLS / Census Bureau — "Changes Between the 1950 and 1960 Occupation and Industry Classifications" (Tech Paper 18, 1968): 679% growth in electrical and electronic technicians 1950-1960](https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/1968/demo/tech-18.pdf), US Census Bureau
3. [BLS Office of Survey Methods Research working paper "A Proposed Category System for 1960-2000 Census Occupations" (Meyer & Osborne, 2005): crosswalk-derived 1980 Census employment estimate for electronic repairers](https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2005/pdf/ec050090.pdf), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Survey Methods Research
4. [BLS OES 1999 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes99nat.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)

### Wage series

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)

### Tool eras

7. [Wikipedia: Electronics Training Program (US Navy ETP, 1942-1945, vacuum tube curriculum)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Training_Program), Wikipedia
8. [AllAboutCircuits: "The History of Vacuum Tubes: An Era Away" (industrial and military vacuum tube applications)](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/vacuum-tubes-an-era-away/), All About Circuits
9. [Electronic Design: "1950s: Transistors Fill The Vacuum — The Digital Age Begins" (solid-state transition in industrial and military electronics)](https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/defense/article/21772292/1950s-transistors-fill-the-vacuum-the-digital-age-begins), Electronic Design
10. [Texas State Historical Association (TSHA): "Electronics Industry" — Texas growth 1950s-1980s, 35,000 Dallas-area electronics workers by late 1960s](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/electronics-industry), Texas State Historical Association
11. [AutomationPrimer: "Birth of the Programmable Controller" (Modicon 084, 1969; PLC market $80M in 1980, $1B by 1988)](https://automationprimer.com/2017/03/19/birth-of-the-programmable-controller/), AutomationPrimer
12. [ISA InTech: "Top tech: 75 years of automation milestones" (Allen-Bradley PLC, NEMA standards, Windows-based programming)](https://www.isa.org/intech-home/2020/september-october/features/top-tech-75-years-of-automation-milestones), International Society of Automation (ISA)
13. [UTI Blog: "What Is Industrial Automation? How Electrical Technicians Contribute" (SCADA, PLC, CMMS role in modern industrial electronics maintenance)](https://www.uti.edu/blog/electrical/what-is-industrial-automation), Universal Technical Institute
14. [Wikipedia: Automation technician (SCADA, DCS, industrial controls history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_technician), Wikipedia
15. [O\*NET 49-2094.00 Technology Skills: Programmable logic controller (PLC) software, CAD, CMMS, industrial control software (2024 snapshot)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-2094.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Forecasts and exposure studies

16. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-2094 Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment (2025: 65.5 thousand; 2035: 65.7 thousand; +0.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2094&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 49-2094 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment: probability 0.41, rank 277 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

### Historical notes

18. [Wikipedia: Electronics Training Program (US Navy ETP, January 12, 1942 launch, ~30,000 graduates)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Training_Program), Wikipedia
19. [National WWII Museum: "Research Starters: The GI Bill" (1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act, vocational training benefits)](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-gi-bill), National WWII Museum
20. [TSHA: "Electronics Industry" — Texas Instruments 1955 commercial transistor, $28M to $233M sales growth 1955-1964](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/electronics-industry), Texas State Historical Association
21. [AutomationPrimer: "Birth of the Programmable Controller" (Modicon 084, 1969, General Motors contract, Richard Morley)](https://automationprimer.com/2017/03/19/birth-of-the-programmable-controller/), AutomationPrimer
22. [NRTC Automation: "The History of OSHA" (Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970, enforcement begin 1971)](https://www.nrtcautomation.com/blog/the-history-of-osha), NRTC Automation
23. [BLS Beyond the Numbers: "Forty years of falling manufacturing employment" — computer and electrical products down 43% 1979-2019](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

24. [Wikipedia: Electronics Training Program (US Navy ETP, 1942-1945, ~30,000 graduates, military-to-civilian pipeline)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Training_Program), 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.