General Laborer Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 6,220 US job postings by 2,124 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for general laborers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 6,220 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for general laborers in US job postings is $20.00 an hour (1,675 postings from 536 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $18.00 to $23.00 an hour.
- The skills that most set general laborer postings apart are hand and power tools, hand tools, strong work ethic.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
General Laborer job postings in the US, October 2026
- $20.00/hr
- Median advertised pay (1,675 postings)
- $18.00–$23.00
- Middle 50% of postings
- 6,220
- US job postings from 2,124 employers
- 1 year
- Median experience asked
How much does a general laborer make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $20.00 an hour, from 1,675 US job postings by 536 employers that state pay. That is about $42,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 1,675 US general laborer job postings: median $42,000 a year ($20.00 an hour), middle half $37,000 to $48,000.
- Median: $42,000 ($20.00/hr)
- 25th percentile: $37,000
- 75th percentile: $48,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.1% |
| $20K–$30K | 4.3% |
| $30K–$40K | 32.3% |
| $40K–$50K | 43.5% |
| $50K–$60K | 10.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 5.1% |
| $70K–$80K | 2.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 1.7% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $20.00 | $18.00–$23.00 | 1,200 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $42,000 | $37K–$48K | 1,675 |
What is the starting salary for a general laborer?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying general laborer jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laborer | $21.50/hr | 592 | 255 |
| General Laborer (general) | $19.50/hr | 941 | 232 |
General laborer pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $21.64/hr | $19.00–$28.85 | 135 | 5.9% |
Skills employers ask for in general laborer job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 15% |
| Attention to detail | 13% |
| Work independently | 9% |
| Strong work ethic | 9% |
| Dependable | 8% |
| Work ethic | 7% |
| Teamwork | 7% |
| Hand tools | 6% |
| Positive attitude | 6% |
| Hand and power tools | 6% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set general laborers apart
- Hand and power tools18.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Hand tools11.5× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Strong work ethic5.9× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Work ethic7.4× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Dependable3× as often as in all postings · 8%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a general laborer job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a general laborer do?
Employers post these jobs as Laborer, General Labor, Construction Laborer, Skilled Laborer, Shop Helper and other titles. The largest specializations are Laborer (44%), Installer (4%), Sign Installer (under 1%), Seasonal Laborer (2%), Mover (2%), Insulator (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Construction Laborers (47-2061.00). Its most important tasks:
- Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.
- Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
- Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
- Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
- Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a general laborer?
Among 854 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. 9% say 0 years and 67% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 854 US general laborer job postings: median 1 year, and 67% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 16% |
| 1 yr | 51% |
| 2 yrs | 18% |
| 3-4 yrs | 10% |
| 5-7 yrs | 4% |
| 8-9 yrs | 0% |
| 10+ yrs | under 1% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 93%, Part-time 7% of the 662 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a general laborer: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| General Laborer | 478 (22.5%) |
| Laborer | 361 (17.0%) |
| General Labor | 349 (16.4%) |
| Construction Laborer | 194 (9.1%) |
| Skilled Laborer | 80 (3.8%) |
| Shop Helper | 60 (2.8%) |
| Construction Worker | 45 (2.1%) |
| Laborers | 45 (2.1%) |
| Helper | 41 (1.9%) |
| Laborer I | 28 (1.3%) |
| Shop Hand | 24 (1.1%) |
| Construction Crew Member | 24 (1.1%) |
| Shop Laborer | 23 (1.1%) |
| Installation Helper | 20 (0.9%) |
| Laborer II | 19 (0.9%) |
| Seasonal Laborer | 16 (0.8%) |
| General Laborers | 16 (0.8%) |
| Plant Laborer | 15 (0.7%) |
| Construction Laborers | 15 (0.7%) |
| General Helper | 15 (0.7%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
General laborer job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laborer | 899 | 361 | – | – | work independently, communication, hand tools |
| General Labor | 1,198 | 349 | $18.30/hr | – | attention to detail, communication, strong work ethic |
| Construction Laborer | 406 | 194 | – | – | work ethic, dependable, basic electrical safety requirements |
General Laborer compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Laborer | $20.00/hr | 1 year | 6,220 | – |
| Groundskeeper | $19.73/hr | 2 years | 5,631 | 18 |
| Mason | – | 3 years | 1,097 | 18 |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | $27.00/hr | 2 years | 5,295 | 15 |
| Assembler | $21.45/hr | 1 year | 6,799 | 16 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Groundskeeper | 18 | $19.73/hr |
| Mason | 18 | – |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | 15 | $27.00/hr |
| Assembler | 16 | $21.45/hr |
| Carpenter | 20 | $27.50/hr |
| Painter | 16 | $23.50/hr |
Applying for general laborer jobs?
- General laborer resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find general laborer jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a General Labor make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.