AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-3021.00
Will AI replace Butchers and Meat Cutters?
Butchers and Meat Cutters: AI can already handle 1 of 11 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 11 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Butchers and Meat Cutters, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Negotiate with representatives from supply companies to determine order details. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare special cuts of meat ordered by customers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Supervise other butchers or meat cutters. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cure, smoke, tenderize, and preserve meat. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 11 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 11 of 11. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 37% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 37% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 64% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 136,430
- Median annual wage
- $40,140
- Middle half of earners
- $35,510 to $48,050
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.0%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 80% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure15
- Slaughterers and Meat Packers 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure20
- Cutters and Trimmers, Hand 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure15
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure26
- Food Preparation Workers 58% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure16
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Butchers and Meat Cutters and AI
Will AI replace Butchers and Meat Cutters?
AI already handles 1 of the 11 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 24 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Butchers and Meat Cutters?
24 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 11 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 11 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Butchers and Meat Cutters tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 37% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 64% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Butchers and Meat Cutters, and what do they earn?
136,430 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $40,140 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.0% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Butchers and Meat Cutters. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/butchers-and-meat-cutters
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