← All 785 jobsFile 43-5021
Couriers and Messengers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #654 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $39,200 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 228,900 in the US, with about 23,800 openings a year
The work, 13 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Move materials, equipment, or supplies16%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Communicate with others about operational plans or activities15%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,065 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate transportation equipment or vehicles8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Sort materials or products8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Analyze data to improve operations7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Obtain formal documentation or authorization7%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 585 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain operational records7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Provide information to guests, clients, or customers4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 9 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Operate office equipment3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,704 conversations, and it got them there 85% of the time.
AI helps with this: Perform administrative or clerical activities3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 171 conversations, and it got them there 89% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Process shipments or mail2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 108 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 23,800 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 37% of the workLaborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand11% AI does, against 4% here+1.8% by 2035 · $40,240 · No formal credential
- Shares 37% of the workPackers and Packagers, Hand0% AI does, against 4% here-5% by 2035 · $36,280 · No formal credential
- Shares 35% of the workLight Truck Drivers18% AI does, against 4% here+6.3% by 2035 · $44,860 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.13, higher than 44% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 43-5021 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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