# Maintenance and Repair Workers, General

US SOC code 49-9071. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-9071

Also called: Maintenance technician, Maintenance tech, Building maintenance, Building engineer, Facilities technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **1,529,700** US general maintenance and repair workers, with median pay of **$49,590** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the highest was **1,531,700**, in May 2024, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml) of **300,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for general maintenance and repair workers: Predictive maintenance AI + IoT sensor networks, 2011 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 4.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9071&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **7.8%** 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)
- **0.64** 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 0.64. BLS counted **1,249,080** of these jobs in May 2013 and **1,529,700** in May 2025 (+22%, 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.

## Maintenance and Repair Workers, General employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1870
- Latest US employment: 1,529,700 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $49,590 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +4.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [31]

### 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 73201)
  - Employment, 2020: 98,405. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [6]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 73201 General building maintenance workers and building superintendents, 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$52,400. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [12]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 73201 General building maintenance workers and building superintendents, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.
- **Australia** (ANZSCO 8993)
  - Employment, 2025: 43,300. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey [7]. ABS Labour Force Survey (Detailed), table EQ08: employed persons in ANZSCO 8993 Handypersons, national (summed across sex and state/territory), annual average of 4 quarterly estimates.
  - Median pay, 2025: A$79,976. Source: ABS Employee Earnings May 2025 [13]. Annualised (x52) from A$1,538 median weekly earnings. ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025: median pay for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate, before tax. Surfaced via the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile.

### All 21 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 300,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [1] |
| 1921 | 400,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., SEIU [2] |
| 1950 | 700,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [1] |
| 1980 | 1,100,000 (estimate) | $14,500 (estimate) | Est., DOL / OSHA [3] |
| 2000 | 1,216,250 | $27,850 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2010 | 1,217,820 | $34,730 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 1,225,450 | $35,030 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 1,230,270 | $35,210 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 1,249,080 | $35,640 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 1,282,920 | $36,170 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 1,314,560 | $36,630 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 1,332,480 | $36,940 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 1,351,210 | $37,670 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 1,384,240 | $38,300 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 1,418,990 | $39,080 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 1,357,630 | $40,850 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 1,416,740 | $43,180 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 1,485,990 | $44,980 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 1,503,150 | $46,700 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 1,531,700 | $48,620 | BLS OEWS May 2024 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2024 (pay) [11] |
| 2025 | 1,529,700 | $49,590 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (82)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA — 1900 Occupation Codes (building service workers, janitors, building engineers)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [SEIU — "A Union of Janitors Is Born" (founding of the Building Service Employees International Union, 1921)](https://www.seiu.org/blog/2015/7/a-union-of-janitors-is-born/), Service Employees International Union
3. [DOL / OSHA — "The Job Safety Law of 1970: Its Passage Was Perilous" (OSHA founding and workforce coverage)](https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/osha), US Department of Labor
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: [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 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
7. [ABS: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, table EQ08 (Employed persons by Occupation unit group, ANZSCO 2013), latest release](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release), Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Wage series

8. [BLS — "The Job Safety Law of 1970: Its Passage Was Perilous" (OSHA era wage context); inflation adjustment via BLS CPI-U calculator](https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/osha), US Department of Labor / BLS
9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [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)
11. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — General Maintenance and Repair Workers (May 2024 median annual wage)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/general-maintenance-and-repair-workers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [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
13. [Jobs and Skills Australia: Handypersons (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025)](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/8993-handypersons), Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Tool eras

14. [Equitable Building (Manhattan) — Wikipedia (1870 hydraulic elevators, first commercial building requiring dedicated maintenance staff)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equitable_Building_%28Manhattan%29), Wikipedia
15. [History101 NYC — "The Equitable Building: Elevator Pioneer to 1916 Zoning Impact"](https://www.history101.nyc/the-equitable-building-1870), History101 NYC
16. [Electrical Contractor Magazine — "100 Years of Innovation: History of the Electric Drill"](https://www.ecmag.com/magazine/articles/article-detail/your-business-100-years-innovation-history-electric-drill), Electrical Contractor Magazine
17. [Baltimore Museum of Industry — Black & Decker 1916 portable drill history](https://www.thebmi.org/exhibits/black-decker/), Baltimore Museum of Industry
18. [Fluke — "History of the Multimeter: Galvanometer to Digital Voltmeter" (AVO meter 1923)](https://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/blog/digital-multimeters/multimeter-history), Fluke Corporation
19. [National Inventors Hall of Fame — S. Duncan Black (Black & Decker 1916 drill, 1923 consumer market)](https://www.invent.org/inductees/s-duncan-black), National Inventors Hall of Fame
20. [TIME — "Black and Decker Cordless Electric Drill" (All-TIME 100 Gadgets)](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689_2026093_2023778,00.html), TIME Magazine
21. [DOL — "The Job Safety Law of 1970: Its Passage Was Perilous" (OSHA founding, 38 deaths/day, construction standards 1972)](https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/osha), US Department of Labor
22. [OSHA — "OSH Act of 1970" (full text, lockout/tagout and confined-space standards)](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/completeoshact), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
23. [Maximo Secrets — "A history of Maximo and why today it is more than an EAM system" (first commercial CMMS 1985)](https://maximosecrets.com/a-history-of-maximo-and-why-today-it-is-more-than-an-eam-system/), Maximo Secrets
24. [BACnet — Wikipedia (1987 ASHRAE committee, 1995 ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135, 400+ proprietary protocols problem)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BACnet), Wikipedia
25. [Actility — "What is BACnet? - Complete Guide" (HVAC applications, smart buildings context)](https://www.actility.com/what-is-bacnet/), Actility
26. [Canvas Business Model — "Augury Brief History" (founded 2011, machine health AI)](https://businessmodelcanvastemplate.com/blogs/brief-history/augury-brief-history), Canvas Business Model / Augury
27. [IBM — "What is Predictive Maintenance?" (IBM Maximo integration, IoT + AI framework)](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/predictive-maintenance), IBM
28. [Nanalyze — "How Predictive Maintenance Can Use Machine Learning" (2019, deployment outcomes)](https://www.nanalyze.com/2019/02/predictive-maintenance-machine-learning/), Nanalyze
29. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 49-9071 (2024-2034 projections: +3.8%, 1,629.7K → 1,692.1K)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
30. [IBM Maximo Application Suite — AI-powered maintenance management (current product)](https://www.ibm.com/products/maximo), IBM

### Forecasts and exposure studies

31. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-9071 Maintenance and repair workers, general (2025: 1,621.8 thousand; 2035: 1,690.5 thousand; +4.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
32. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General: probability 0.64, rank 352 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
33. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 49-9071.00, human-rated β 0.078)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

34. [Equitable Building (Manhattan) — Wikipedia (1870 building, hydraulic elevators, 1912 fire)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equitable_Building_%28Manhattan%29), Wikipedia
35. [Encyclopedia Chicago History — Service Employees International Union (Chicago Flat Janitors Union, 1902)](https://web.archive.org/web/20241227070635/https://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2988.html), Encyclopedia of Chicago
36. [SEIU — "A Union of Janitors Is Born" (BSEIU founding 1921)](https://www.seiu.org/blog/2015/7/a-union-of-janitors-is-born/), Service Employees International Union
37. [DOL — "The Job Safety Law of 1970: Its Passage Was Perilous"](https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/osha), US Department of Labor
38. [Maximo Secrets — "A history of Maximo and why today it is more than an EAM system"](https://maximosecrets.com/a-history-of-maximo-and-why-today-it-is-more-than-an-eam-system/), Maximo Secrets
39. [Frey & Osborne (2013) — "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?" (Oxford Martin School)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School
40. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — General Maintenance and Repair Workers (2024 data, 159,800 annual openings, Bright Outlook)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/general-maintenance-and-repair-workers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

41. [Encyclopedia Chicago History — Service Employees International Union (building service worker origins)](https://web.archive.org/web/20241227070635/https://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2988.html), Encyclopedia of Chicago
42. [ASQ — "History of Quality" (industrial maintenance as precursor to facilities maintenance craft)](https://asq.org/quality-resources/history-of-quality), American Society for Quality

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Maintenance and Repair Workers, General (49-9071.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-9071.00), accessed 2026-05-28
- [BLS OOH — General Maintenance and Repair Workers: 1,398,700 employed May 2023; +4% growth 2023-2033; median $46,600](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/general-maintenance-and-repair-workers.htm), accessed 2026-05-28
- [BLS OEWS May 2023 — 49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General: national employment and wage statistics (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [UpKeep 2025 State of Maintenance Report — 2,700+ maintenance professionals; CMMS adoption, productivity benchmarks, preventive vs reactive maintenance ratios](https://upkeep.com/state-of-maintenance/), accessed 2026-05-28
- [IFMA Research and Benchmarking — facility management industry research covering O&M costs, technology adoption, predictive maintenance use cases, and FM workforce trends](https://www.ifma.org/resources/research-benchmarking/), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Frey & Osborne 2017 — The Future of Employment: automation susceptibility score 0.22 for maintenance and repair workers (low, driven by dexterity and perception requirements)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), accessed 2026-05-28
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): LLM occupational exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-28
- [McKinsey — Building a digital twin of a building: smart building AI investment and facilities ROI (January 2024)](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/real-estate/our-insights/building-a-digital-twin-of-a-building), accessed 2026-05-28
- [Deloitte — Real Estate Insights: corporate real estate, AI adoption, smart building technology, and facilities management trends](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/real-estate.html), accessed 2026-06-21
- [BOMA 2025 Maintenance Technician Job Postings Analysis — CMMS proficiency (UpKeep, MaintainX, IBM Maximo) cited as top required skill; mobile work-order literacy outranks specific tool skills](https://www.boma.org/BOMA/Resources/Research/BOMA.aspx), accessed 2026-05-28
- [Fiix CMMS (Rockwell Automation) 2025 — AI inventory optimization: auto-generated POs from low-stock triggers; parts demand forecasting from repair history](https://fiixsoftware.com/), accessed 2026-05-28

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