An industrial construction laborer helps the crafts on plant and warehouse jobs by moving and staging material, keeping work areas clean and standing fire watch while welders work. They follow the plant's rules and the supervisor's directions, and learn the trades by working beside them.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial and industrial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Laborer/Helper provides essential support on industrial construction sites by assisting skilled trades, handling materials, and ensuring a safe and organized job site. This role is crucial in maintaining productivity, quality, and safety across all phases of construction projects.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assist construction trades with various tasks including mixing, lifting, and positioning materials.
Transport and distribute materials accurately to designated work areas.
Operate basic tools and equipment safely under supervision.
Maintain clean and organized job sites to support efficient project operations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Collaborate with skilled trades to prepare and set up work areas each day.
Load, unload, and stage materials and tools according to project needs.
Clean work stations and remove debris to uphold site safety and order.
Follow safety protocols and communicate any concerns to the supervisor.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Job Site Cleanliness: Achieve a ≥95% job site cleanliness score.
Material Handling Efficiency: Maintain a 98% on-time delivery rate for materials.
Safety Compliance: Ensure zero preventable safety incidents per quarter.
Task Completion: Attain 100% compliance with daily assigned tasks as verified by the supervisor.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
1-2 years of experience in industrial construction or a related field preferred.
Strong physical stamina and ability to perform physically demanding tasks.
Basic knowledge of construction tools and adherence to safety procedures.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in industrial construction or heavy-duty labor roles.
Familiarity with material handling and basic machinery operation in a construction setting.
Experience working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
Demonstrated understanding of safety and quality control standards in similar projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs safely and frequently.
Capacity for prolonged standing, bending, and stooping.
Comfortable working in varied outdoor industrial environments, including hot, cold, and dusty conditions.
Ability to navigate uneven surfaces and confined spaces with care.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
Monday through Friday schedule with occasional weekend shifts as project needs dictate.
On-site work involving exposure to industrial noise, dust, and weather elements.
Minimal travel required to various job sites within the local region.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate ranging from $15 to $22 depending on experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401(k) plan with company match along with additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on cultivating a culture of growth, collaboration, and innovation. Our team is dedicated to delivering exceptional service while fostering an environment where every employee is valued and empowered to excel. Join us to develop your skills, build a rewarding career, and contribute to projects that make a lasting impact.
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].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Laborers everywhere carry, stage and clean. In a plant, those jobs come with fire watch, scaffold and waste rules that a new hand learns early.
Fire watch is a job, not a break
OSHA calls for extra people to guard against fire when welding or torch cutting needs more than normal precautions. They stay on watch while the work goes on and for a good while after, until no fire can start. Laborers often get this post. They must be told what could burn and how to use the extinguisher or hose they're given. A good fire watch keeps eyes on the sparks, not on a phone. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.352, Fire prevention (welding and cutting).
Only trained hands build or move scaffolds
OSHA says scaffolds are put up, moved or taken down only under the direction of a competent person, by trained, experienced workers that person picks. Anyone who builds, moves or inspects scaffolds must be trained on the hazards by a competent person. Keep a new laborer off the scaffold crew until that training is done. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.454, Scaffold training requirements.
Oily rags go in a covered can
OSHA's housekeeping rule calls for containers for trash and oily or used rags, and those holding oily, flammable or hazardous waste, such as acids, caustics or harmful dusts, need covers. Waste must leave at frequent, regular intervals. In a plant, that includes rags from pump work and used spill pads. Ask the plant where its waste goes, since some of it can't go in your dumpster. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.25, Housekeeping.
Red tape means stay out
Plants mark danger zones with barricade tape and tags, often red for no entry and yellow for caution, but each site sets its own meaning. Teach new laborers your site's colors on day one. Make it a rule that only the person who hung a barricade, or their supervisor, takes it down.
How much industrial construction laborers make
Construction laborers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $24.01 an hour ($49,940 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $47,120 median for construction laborers in all industries. About 118,700 of the 1,096,780 construction laborers in that survey work for commercial and industrial building contractors.
Hourly, with overtime and the bonus the template names. The chart shows construction laborers, the BLS group that fits general site help across trades. Both ends of the template's hourly range fall short of this industry's BLS median. Its low end is also below the current state minimum wage in Rhode Island and in much of Oregon, so start at your state's rate or higher.
Commercial and industrial building contractors
$49,940$49,940 median Middle half $44,070–$63,490 10th–90th $36,780–$82,000
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
Commercial and industrial building contractors
$36,780
$44,070
$49,940
$63,490
$82,000
All industries
$35,090
$38,620
$47,120
$59,740
$78,090
BLS reports industrial and commercial building contractors together. 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
Shows up at the posted start, ready to work
Follows a permit, a barricade or a stop order without argument
Uses hand tools, pallet jacks and wheelbarrows safely
Keeps a work area clear as the crafts go
Speaks up about a hazard right away
Teach these on the job
Fire watch duties and extinguisher use
The plant's permits and barricade colors
Scaffold work, under a competent person
Reading a material list and a staging plan
Basic power tools, such as grinders and drills
Laborers here use shovels, brooms, wheelbarrows, pallet jacks, grinders and drills, plus extinguishers and hoses on fire watch. Say in the ad which tools new hires will use first and which gear the plant requires.
Industrial construction 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 · Respecting barricades
A red danger-tape barricade blocks the shortest way to your tools. What do you do?
A strong answer: Doesn't cross it, goes around or asks the person who set it up.
Behavioral · Following site rules
Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you followed a rule even though it slowed you down.
A strong answer: A specific rule, why it mattered and that they stuck with it.
Those targets in the template are only samples. Pick yours with the field supervisor based on your own jobs, and go over them during a new hire's first weeks.
Job Site Cleanliness
Have the supervisor score each work area on a short checklist at the end of the shift: walkways clear, scrap binned, rag cans covered and tools put away.
Material Handling Efficiency
Log each material request from the crafts with the time asked and the time it reached the work area. Group the late ones by reason, like the wrong item or no forklift free.
Safety Compliance
Count preventable incidents and safety warnings for each laborer from the supervisor's daily notes and the injury log. Go over any miss with the laborer the same week.
Task Completion
At the end of each day, the supervisor checks off the tasks given that morning and notes any left undone and why.
Career path
Laborer / helperMoves material, cleans up and stands fire watch on plant jobs.
Craft apprenticeJoins a pipefitter, millwright or ironworker training program while working.
Do industrial laborers wear flame-resistant clothing?
At some plants, yes. Many refineries and chemical plants, and some power and gas sites, require flame-resistant clothing inside their units, and the owner's contractor safety rules say which areas and what rating. Ask the plant before the job starts and have the gear ready on day one, since a laborer without it can be turned away at the gate.
How much does an industrial construction laborer make?
Construction laborers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $24.01 an hour ($49,940 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $44,070 and $63,490 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Which crew should a new laborer start on?
Start them with a crew whose lead likes to teach, often a civil or steel crew where the work is mostly carrying, staging and cleanup. Move them to pipe or mechanical crews once they know the plant's permits and fire watch. Ask in the interview which trade they want to learn. A helper working toward a goal is easier to keep.
Can a laborer move into a craft apprenticeship?
Yes. Many apprenticeship programs for pipefitters, ironworkers, millwrights and electricians take people who started as helpers. Union programs run through the local's training center, and open shops can sponsor or join a registered program. A laborer who already knows plant permits and fire watch starts that program ahead of a new hire.
What work sits behind the template's lifting, bending and tight-space lines?
Moving bags of grout, buckets and pipe supports that weigh as much as the template allows, bending and stooping to stage parts and sweep, walking gravel yards and rough ground, and fitting into tight spots under pipe racks or in pits, in hot, cold or dusty weather. The template's line about physically demanding work points to these duties. Name them as tasks in your ad, and listen when a candidate asks about another way to do one.
