An excavation laborer is the ground crew on basement digs, grading jobs and utility trenches. They set and read grade stakes, check depth for the operator, lay tracer wire with plastic pipe, clear brush and debris, and keep each lot safe and clean.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
This role supports excavation and site work operations by assisting equipment operators, accurately setting grade stakes, clearing debris, and managing materials. The Laborer / Helper plays a vital role in ensuring project efficiency and safety on various job sites.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assist equipment operators with excavation procedures and on-site tasks.
Set grade stakes precisely to support accurate site layouts and grading requirements.
Clear debris from job sites to ensure a safe and efficient working environment.
Handle and transport materials to support overall site operations and project progress.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Support daily excavation and grading activities under the direction of site supervisors.
Communicate regularly with team members to ensure task alignment and safety.
Prepare work areas including setting up grade stakes and designating material drop-off areas.
Maintain a clean and organized work site by removing debris and managing waste materials.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Daily work efficiency with zero equipment downtime incidents: target 100%.
Grade stake accuracy measured by site inspections: maintain >98% accuracy.
Daily debris removal to meet site safety standards: achieve 100% clearance rate.
Consistent support in material handling tasks with on-time project contributions: 100% as per schedule.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
Minimum of 1 year of experience in labor or field work required.
Basic understanding of excavation tools, equipment, and safety protocols.
Strong teamwork, communication, and time management skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous work experience in excavation, construction, or site work environments.
Familiarity with heavy equipment operations and on-site safety procedures.
Experience working in physically demanding roles with a strong work ethic.
Demonstrated reliability and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds consistently.
Ability to work outdoors in variable weather conditions including heat, cold, and rain.
Capability to stand, walk, bend, and perform repetitive manual labor during shifts.
Willingness to work in environments that may include confined spaces under proper safety measures.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
Occasional overtime may be required during peak project periods.
On-site work with potential travel between job locations.
Strict adherence to safety protocols in dynamic and physically demanding environments.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate ranging from $18 - $22 per hour.
Eligibility for performance bonuses tied to project milestones and efficiency.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
Participation in a 401k plan with company matching contributions.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture that values innovation, integrity, and continuous improvement. We invest in our employees’ professional growth through ongoing training and development opportunities, ensuring everyone has the tools and encouragement needed to excel in their careers. Our commitment to customer satisfaction and safety makes us not only a leader in the home services industry but also an employer of choice for dedicated professionals.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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Machines move the dirt, but a laborer shows them where it goes and cleans up after them. On a site work crew that means stakes, pumps, brush, tracer wire and traffic.
Reading the stake
Survey stakes carry a station, an offset and a cut or fill figure written on them. A laborer who reads them right can set working stakes, check a footing or pad with a rod and laser receiver, and tell the operator how much more to take. A bumped or pulled survey stake costs a return trip by the surveyor. So laborers flag those stakes and work around them.
Brush clearing and rash plants
Clearing brush for a new lot puts the ground crew in poison ivy, oak or sumac, depending on the region. OSHA's site clearing rule says to protect workers from these plants and teach them the first aid on hand. That means long sleeves and gloves, soap and water on the truck, and showing new laborers what the plants look like before they drag brush or feed a chipper. Source: OSHA: Site clearing (29 CFR 1926.604).
A vest before stepping into the street
Driveway aprons, curb cuts and water or sewer taps put laborers next to passing cars. OSHA has a rule for that at excavations. Anyone exposed to public traffic must be given a warning vest, or another garment that is reflective or high-visibility, and must wear it. The vest goes on before the laborer steps off the curb, even for a ten-minute job. Source: OSHA: Specific excavation requirements (29 CFR 1926.651).
Water in the hole
Groundwater or a night of rain can leave water standing in a footing trench or a basement hole. OSHA bars work in a hole where water has collected or is still collecting unless the crew is protected. That can mean special support or shield systems, pumping, or a harness and lifeline. When pumps keep the water down, a competent person has to watch over them. The laborer often runs the pump and tells the supervisor at once if it quits or the water rises. Source: OSHA: Specific excavation requirements (29 CFR 1926.651).
Tracer wire rides with plastic pipe
A standard locator can't find plastic pipe by itself. Nebraska, for one, requires plastic and other nonmetallic lines put in since January 1, 2021 to be locatable, by mapping or with tracer wire. Where the job calls for wire, the laborer lays it along the pipe, splices it the way the spec says, and brings it up where the plans show. A broken wire can leave the next crew guessing where the line is. Source: Nebraska Revised Statutes 76-2320.02: Plastic lines must be locatable.
How much excavation laborers make
The closest BLS group for excavation laborers is construction laborers. Construction laborers who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $22.79 an hour ($47,410 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $47,120 median for construction laborers in all industries. About 186,050 of the 1,096,780 construction laborers in that survey work for other specialty trade contractors.
Hourly, with overtime and milestone bonuses, as the template sets it. Against BLS pay for construction laborers at these contractors, the low rate falls between the bottom tenth and the bottom quarter, and the high rate sits just below the median. A laborer who reads grade on their own and can backfill with a skid steer has earned the top of it.
Other specialty trade contractors
$47,410$47,410 median Middle half $38,870–$59,750 10th–90th $35,920–$78,330
All industries
$47,120$47,120 median Middle half $38,620–$59,740 10th–90th $35,090–$78,090
$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Other specialty trade contractors
$35,920
$38,870
$47,410
$59,750
$78,330
All industries
$35,090
$38,620
$47,120
$59,740
$78,090
BLS doesn’t publish pay for excavation contractors on their own. These figures cover other specialty trade contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Reads the cut or fill on a grade stake and tells the operator how much is left
Hand-trims a footing or trench bottom to grade with a shovel and rake
Sorts brush, stumps and trash into the piles the supervisor marked
Keeps the lot clean as the work moves, from brush piles to dropped fittings
Speaks up the moment a pump stops or water starts rising in a hole
Teach these on the job
Laying tracer wire and splicing it at fittings
The hand signals your operators use for depth, swing and stop
Running and checking the trench pump through the day
Spotting poison ivy and other rash plants
Setting working stakes from the surveyor's offsets
Day one is hand tools: shovel, rake, tamping bar, stakes and marking paint. The grade rod and laser receiver come next, then the trench pump, the brush cutter on clearing days and the plate compactor. A skid steer or compact excavator comes later, for those who show they're ready.
Excavation laborer interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Working around running equipment
The excavator is digging and you need to check the depth in the trench. Walk me through how you do it safely.
A strong answer: Gets the operator's attention and a stop signal, stays out of the swing radius, checks from outside the trench with a rod if possible, and enters only a protected trench by the ladder with the bucket stopped.
Behavioral · Reliability
This job starts at [7 a.m.] on sites that change every few weeks. Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to be on time somewhere new.
A strong answer: Gives an example of planning ahead, such as checking the route the night before, and shows they understand the crew can't start without them.
The template writes these as perfect scores. Use them as the standard the field supervisor checks each week, and coach on the misses instead of ranking laborers by them.
Daily work efficiency with zero equipment downtime incidents
Days a machine sat idle over something the laborer controlled, such as a missing stake, a pump left off or no spotter in place. The supervisor logs each one with its cause.
Grade stake accuracy measured by site inspections
Each week the supervisor or surveyor rechecks a sample of the laborer's working stakes and grade shots against the plans. Note whether each miss was a misread stake or a bumped laser.
Daily debris removal to meet site safety standards
An end-of-day walk by the supervisor: brush and debris piled where planned, paths clear, stakes and pipe off the haul route, and the curb line and street edge swept.
Consistent support in material handling tasks with on-time project contributions
Whether pipe, stone, fittings and tracer wire were staged where the crew needed them before each task began. The supervisor spot checks twice a week and notes what was missing.
Career path
Excavation laborerSets stakes, spots for operators, clears brush and keeps lots clean.
Dump truck driverA side path for laborers who earn a CDL with company training.
Both, at different stages. The surveyor sets the control points, the property corners and the first offset stakes from the plans. Laborers then set working stakes and hubs from those, using the laser and a grade rod, so operators can dig and grade between survey visits.
How much does an excavation laborer make?
Construction laborers who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $22.79 an hour ($47,410 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $38,870 and $59,750 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How does a laborer help on a basement dig?
Before the machine starts, they help lay out the hole from the surveyor's offsets. During the dig they check depth with the rod and laser, hand-trim the footing area the bucket can't reach cleanly, and keep people back from the edge and the swing. Afterward they set the ladder or ramp, clean spoil off the street, and help backfill once the foundation walls are in.
How soon can a new laborer work in a trench?
Best not on the first morning. OSHA has employers teach each worker to recognize and avoid the unsafe conditions in their work. Start new laborers up top: staking, spotting and cleanup. Before they step into a trench box, the competent person shows them the protection, the ladder, where water collects and when to climb out.
How do the template's physical lines apply to an excavation laborer?
The wording stays. On a site work crew it covers shoveling stone around pipe, carrying stakes and fittings up to 50 pounds, bending to tie tracer wire and raking topsoil, in every season. The confined spaces line mostly means a trench box or a narrow footing trench, which OSHA handles under its excavation rule. A manhole or lift station can count as a confined space under a separate OSHA rule with its own training, so plan for that before anyone goes in one. Name the tasks in your post, plus the person who fields accommodation questions.
