Janitors and Cleaners
(Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners)

High Risk
67%
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Vote Comments (16)
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AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
76%
(High Risk)
POLLING
59%
(Moderate Risk)
Average: 67%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
3.1%
by year 2033
WAGES
$35,020
or $16.84 per hour
Volume
2,172,500
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
2.9/10

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Calculated automation risk

76% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): Jobs in this category face a significant threat from automation, as many of their tasks can be easily automated using current or near-future technologies.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Manual Dexterity

User poll

59% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 76% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners' job openings is expected to rise 3.1% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners' was $35,020, or $16 per hour

'Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners' were paid 27.1% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 2,172,500 people employed as 'Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners' within the United States.

This represents around 1.4% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 69 people are employed as 'Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners'.

Job description

Keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Perform heavy cleaning duties, such as cleaning floors, shampooing rugs, washing walls and glass, and removing rubbish. Duties may include tending furnace and boiler, performing routine maintenance activities, notifying management of need for repairs, and cleaning snow or debris from sidewalk.

SOC Code: 37-2011.00

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Comments

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Jeff (Moderate) 11 days ago
As a janitor, I know from experience automated tech usually breaks down at an equal rate that it works. Case in point, floor scrubbers that are supposed to help us make short work of hallways have problems with keeping charged batteries long enough to run reliably or constantly leak water or fail to pick up the water dispensed on the floor. Also, in a hospital environment when cleaning patient rooms and restrooms, it still takes a human to wipe down furniture, clean sinks and commodes, wash walls, dust, etc.
0 0 Reply
Mike 5 months ago
Lol not even close. Laughably high %. More than a web developer? I'd like to see a robot clean up after a basketball game. Climb the bleachers, go under the bleachers, put away chairs, scoreboard, cords, mics, etc, lock doors, clean glass, scrape gum, auto scrub, spot mop, rinse out a garbage can. There are way too many unique tasks imo.
1 1 Reply
Johan Smitten (No chance) 6 months ago
It's not complicated work, but even tasks like mopping and scrubbing toilets don't seem like something any modern robot can do. Even if Japan whipped something up, it just wouldn't make financial sense to buy and maintain a robot over hiring a minimum wage worker.
0 0 Reply
Bryck (Low) 8 months ago
Unless a new technological breakthrough occurs, the risk of janitors being replaced are quite low. Vocational academies can earn revenue and employ a major sector of janitors. Above vocational qualifications, though, is the fact that automation in this specific sector does not increase productivity at all. Not only do vocational schools help earn more revenue, but automation costs a lot more than simply employing janitors.
0 0 Reply
Jeff (Uncertain) 10 months ago
The technology of AI has a couple or three more decades before it can become reliable enough to do repetitive tasks and the maintenance of such machines is especially high as they have a lot of technical issues so the reliability of such automation is a ways off.
0 0 Reply
Josh (Low) 1 year ago
I can see automation doing things like cleaning floors and tables but i can't see it being cost effective to have a bot do everything a janitor does in a normal day. everything from taking trash out and throwing it in the dumpsters to shampooing stains out of carpets to removing vandalism and cleaning complex surfaces like toilets and sinks. Not to mention tasks like opening up and refilling toilet paper and paper towel dispensers.

Don't get me wrong, i think it could be done, i just think the cost would be outrageous and that somebody would still often have to step in for unusual messes and vandalism.
0 0 Reply
Kory Hasch (Low) 1 year ago
Because machines can operate on a basic level, and deep cleaning requires human judgment.
0 0 Reply
Mike (No chance) 1 year ago
In offices, schools, factories, and public spaces like malls and restaurants, I do not believe janitorial is at risk for automation. In order to make the tasks involved more able to be automated, they would have to do two things:

A. Invest significantly in equipment and processes that make the tasks much easier to do, and
B. Put a lot of personal responsibility on the people causing messes, generating the trash, and otherwise making the work that is needed to be done.

For A, restrooms would have to be redesigned with standards for toilets, urinals, sinks, etc where automated brushes could easily reach them. Trash receptacles would also need regular emptying and cleaning. It could be done, and I believe they've even invented self-cleaning restrooms where it basically treats the entire interior like a dishwasher, locking it off and doing high pressure sprays with sanitizing chemicals. It would be very very expensive to redesign them in such a way, not to mention the ongoing maintenance costs of such precision equipment. Similar with locker/shower rooms, kitchenettes, and break areas.

For B, in order for desk waste receptacle collection to be automated, office workers would need to actually throw trash inside the trash can and not beside, behind, or underneath. They would need to have it in a fixed position, and keep the area in front of it clear, and not obstructed with personal items, stacks of paper, or other junk. Similar to automated vacuum robots, they would need the area they're to clean free of obstacles. The best way to clean greasy fingerprints off glass doors is simply not have them there in the first place; train people to put their hands on the handle. Office workers in particular are incredibly inconsiderate of the work they leave for others, and office facilities would rather hire double the amount of cleaning staff to be demeaned and jump through ridiculous and unnecessary hoops.

The amount of investment needed to automate janitorial tasks would be incredibly high. If they really wanted to save money, they could instantly probably cut 25-50% of their workforce budget by being considerate to others. But they'd much rather waste money on digging their heels into classism, ensuring there are "servants" to look down upon.
0 0 Reply
Not a robot (No chance) 1 year ago
cleaning seems automated but its very much not. you may do same tasks, but a robot wont be cheaper to maintain then hiring a person. and you would need like a robot for each specific task then someone to repair robot if it breaks down. Just do not see AI replacing janitors.
0 0 Reply
Max Dragonard (Highly likely) 3 years ago
Perfect job for a robot.
0 0 Reply
thao (Highly likely) 3 years ago
There is lots of money to be made with automation, robotics, AI. Still, we won't see cleaning robotic or humanoid for a least 10 - 15 yrs, my opinion cause companies are taking ages to make it perfect like human-like, robotic but then I am too old I will be retired anyway.
0 0 Reply
Experienced Cleaner (No chance) 3 years ago
No matter how sophisticated the AI and software, plus the sensing technology a robot has, it will still require humans to train, service, and operate it. Its interface will have to be simplified enough to where its operator can program and run it, while focusing on the less predictable aspects of the cleaning work. AI and automation will only reduce the turnover rate and increase wages in this occupation.
0 0 Reply
Ben (Uncertain) 3 years ago
Addressing Peter's comment that states robots and artificial intelligence cannot be made to cope with the unpredictability of dealing with people.

I am currently writing this comment using an artificial intelligence aid. It is called Grammarly. I write rather well on my own, the help though is appreciated. It can improvise upon what I'm going to write.

Does this mean it reads my mind? No, it uses algorithms to prognosticate what is coming based upon my previous writing. From that, it can then access other algorithms that study grammatical rules and policies. That allows it to use an algorithm to assist my writing by editing.

My point being case variables in programmatic instructions can be defined so as to "follow" and "cope" with people. I work as a custodian presently for our county's public schools, which we have from pre-school to grade twelve. Children are the most unpredictable of all humans.

I can easily see how timing schedules, sensors, algorithms could all be put in place to cut my workload by two-thirds, or more. My work can be greatly automated. Still, there would need to be technicians both to repair the physical and mechanical aspects and to repair the computing code at times. So I say it could go either way.
0 0 Reply
Ron Leffers 4 years ago
there will less people working with robots but more people doing other things
0 0 Reply
Jayden (Highly likely) 4 years ago
We’ve already got little cleaning technology and I think it would be good to have robots that would just do this
0 0 Reply
Peter (Low) 5 years ago
This job deal with people and unpredictable action of people make difficult to created AI capable do do it. That was reason why was stopped it development. Job my be changed from actual cleaning to preparing area for robots.
0 0 Reply

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