# Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants

US SOC code 53-6031. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/53-6031

Also called: Gas station attendant, Service station attendant, Fuel service attendant, Lube technician, Quick lube attendant.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **102,010** US automotive and watercraft service attendants, with median pay of **$35,670** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the highest was **118,850**, in May 2017. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://aoghs.org/transportation/first-gas-pump-and-service-stations/) of **5** from 1913, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for automotive and watercraft service attendants: Pay-at-the-pump card reader + quick-lube POS, 1985 to 2010. Pay-at-pump removed forecourt attendants from nearly all self-service stations, while the quick-lube and tire-service segment absorbed much of the remaining hands-on work.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-6031&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **6.5%** 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.

## Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1913
- Latest US employment: 102,010 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $35,670 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +3.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [17]

### 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 65101)
  - Employment, 2020: 8,975. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [4]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 65101 Service station attendants, 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$29,400. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 65101 Service station attendants, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1913 | 5 (estimate) | n/a | Est., American Oil & Gas Historical Society [1] |
| 1960 | n/a | $3,400 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [5] |
| 1970 | 220,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Reference for Business [2] |
| 1997 | 40,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Reference for Business [2] |
| 2003 | 96,250 | $16,870 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 90,640 | $17,240 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 96,340 | $17,300 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 94,780 | $17,750 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 93,140 | $18,290 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 84,480 | $18,950 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 79,480 | $19,290 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 86,440 | $19,540 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 102,090 | $19,930 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 108,510 | $20,140 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 112,970 | $20,470 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 104,750 | $20,900 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 109,710 | $21,560 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 109,790 | $22,420 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 118,850 | $23,390 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 113,760 | $24,200 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 117,670 | $25,200 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 112,750 | $26,540 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 111,480 | $29,330 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 99,600 | $30,850 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 92,530 | $33,820 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 98,270 | $34,850 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 102,010 | $35,670 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (75)

### Employment series

1. [American Oil & Gas Historical Society — "First Gas Pump and Service Stations" (Gulf Pittsburgh drive-in station, December 1913, manager + four attendants)](https://aoghs.org/transportation/first-gas-pump-and-service-stations/), American Oil & Gas Historical Society
2. [Reference for Business — "SIC 5541 Gasoline Service Stations" (industry history: ~220,000 full-service stations in the 1970s, ~40,000 by 1997)](https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Retail-Trade/Gasoline-Service-Stations.html), Reference for Business / Encyclopedia of American Industries
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)
4. [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

5. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960-1969" (period service-station and hourly wage context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries
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)
7. [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

8. [American Oil & Gas Historical Society — "First Gas Pump and Service Stations" (early filling-station equipment and full-service model)](https://aoghs.org/transportation/first-gas-pump-and-service-stations/), American Oil & Gas Historical Society
9. [Petroleum Service Company — "A Brief History of Self-Serve Gas Stations" (Frank Urich, Los Angeles, 1947; "Save five cents, serve yourself")](https://petroleumservicecompany.com/blog/brief-history-self-serve-gas-stations/), Petroleum Service Company
10. [Wikipedia — Self-service (history: first self-service filling station, 1947, Los Angeles)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-service), Wikipedia
11. [Reference for Business — "SIC 5541 Gasoline Service Stations" (self-service 22% in 1975, 86% in 1992, near-universal 1997; station counts)](https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Retail-Trade/Gasoline-Service-Stations.html), Reference for Business / Encyclopedia of American Industries
12. [Pumptex — "A History of Self-Service Gas Stations" (pay-at-the-pump and the end of forecourt attendant presence)](https://pumptex.com/a-history-of-self-service-gas-stations.php), Pumptex
13. [ISI LubeSoft — Carfax QuickVIN integration for OEM service-interval lookup (quick-lube POS workflow)](https://digitaldealer.com/news/isi-lubesoft-software-gets-carfax-quickvin-enhancement/41954/), Digital Dealer / ISI
14. [Diebold Nixdorf — "How AI is Reshaping Fuel and Convenience Stores" (connected forecourt, automated payment and reporting)](https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/en-us/retail/insights/blog-retail/how-ai-is-reshaping-service-stations-convenience-stores/), Diebold Nixdorf
15. [DockMaster — marina management software for fuel dock, billing, and inventory](https://www.dockmaster.com/solutions/marina-management), DockMaster
16. [ChargePoint — AI-powered EV charging software platform upgrade (charging-network management and session troubleshooting)](https://electrek.co/2025/11/13/chargepoint-ev-charging-software-a-major-ai-upgrade/), Electrek / ChargePoint

### Forecasts and exposure studies

17. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 53-6031 Automotive and watercraft service attendants (2025: 102.4 thousand; 2035: 106.3 thousand; +3.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-6031&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
18. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 53-6031.00, human-rated β 0.065)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

19. [American Oil & Gas Historical Society — "First Gas Pump and Service Stations" (Gulf Pittsburgh drive-in station, December 1913)](https://aoghs.org/transportation/first-gas-pump-and-service-stations/), American Oil & Gas Historical Society
20. [Petroleum Service Company — "A Brief History of Self-Serve Gas Stations" (Frank Urich, 1947)](https://petroleumservicecompany.com/blog/brief-history-self-serve-gas-stations/), Petroleum Service Company
21. [Wikipedia — Filling station attendant (New Jersey self-service ban, 1949; full-service requirement)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filling_station_attendant), Wikipedia
22. [Reference for Business — "SIC 5541 Gasoline Service Stations" (1973 oil shock and the self-service transition; market-share figures)](https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Retail-Trade/Gasoline-Service-Stations.html), Reference for Business / Encyclopedia of American Industries
23. [Convenience Store News — "Oregon Lifts Ban on Self-Service Gas" (HB 2426, signed August 2023; New Jersey now the only full-service state)](https://csnews.com/oregon-lifts-ban-self-service-gas), Convenience Store News

### Predecessors & successors

24. [American Oil & Gas Historical Society — "First Gas Pump and Service Stations" (transition from hardware/blacksmith fuel sales to the purpose-built filling station)](https://aoghs.org/transportation/first-gas-pump-and-service-stations/), American Oil & Gas Historical Society

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants (53-6031.00): tasks, wages, outlook](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-6031.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants: ~100,000 employed, $16.76/hr median (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs: LLM labor exposure by occupation (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Diebold Nixdorf — How AI is Reshaping Fuel and Convenience Stores (2025)](https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/en-us/retail/insights/blog-retail/how-ai-is-reshaping-service-stations-convenience-stores/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Monmouth Magazine — The Pumping Predicament: full-service vs. self-serve employment history](https://www.monmouth.edu/magazine/the-pumping-predicament/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Shopmonkey — inventory sync and parts ordering for oil change shops](https://www.shopmonkey.io/oil-change-software), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Gilbarco Veeder-Root Insite360 — remote dispenser management and AI fuel analytics](https://www.gilbarco.com/us/products/remote-management-services), accessed 2026-06-05

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