Orderlies
Transport patients to areas such as operating rooms or x-ray rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. May maintain stocks of supplies or clean and transport equipment. Psychiatric orderlies are included in Psychiatric Aides.
BLS SOC 31-1132 · O*NET-SOC 31-1132.00 · BLS 2025–2035 · O*NET 31.0
Median annual wage, 2025
$38,290
Projected change, 2025–2035
4%
2025–2035 annual average openings
7,200
AI exposure
Low
Editorial analysis
Hospitals can automate movement, but patients are not packages
Hospitals are experimenting with robots that move supplies, medications, linens, and other materials through predictable corridors. AI can also improve transport scheduling by coordinating where equipment, beds, and patients need to go.
Patient transport is different from material transport
Orderlies may move people who are weak, confused, in pain, attached to equipment, at risk of falling, or anxious about what is happening. Safe movement requires awareness of the person, the environment, and the clinical situation.
- Routine delivery and materials movement may increasingly shift to autonomous carts or robots.
- AI scheduling can reduce waiting and improve transport coordination.
- Lifting technology may reduce physical strain.
- Direct patient movement, comfort, safety, and responding to unexpected changes remain harder to automate.
The job may gradually become more concentrated on patient-facing transportation and assistance as robots take over simpler movement of objects around healthcare facilities.
Labor-market picture
Two measures, different questions
These measures offer two different ways to understand the occupation: BLS projections show how national employment may change over time, while relative AI exposure highlights where tasks may intersect with AI-related capabilities. Read them with the work profile and your local context to decide what deserves closer investigation.
Employment
- Employment, 2025
- 52,800 jobs
- Projected employment, 2035
- 54,900 jobs
- Projected change, 2025–2035
- 2,100 jobs (4%)
Relative AI exposure
BLS category: Low. This is a relative task-exposure classification, not a forecast of employment change, automation, wages, or worker replacement.
Relative AI exposure · Low
Work profile
Representative tasks
These task statements come from O*NET 31.0. They are source facts, not labels assigned by the AI exposure measure.
- Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
- Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
- Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.
- Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance.
- Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms.
- Change soiled linens, such as bed linens, drapes, or cubicle curtains.
Skills that matter
Skills in the source profile
Importance uses O*NET's 1–5 scale. Level uses its 0–7 scale. Select a skill to see its source definition and reported values.
Technology and tools
These technology records come from O*NET and show software or tools reported in the occupation profile. They describe work context, not a required checklist for every employer.
- Medical software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Operating system software
Preparation
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
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Source provenance
Labor-market and exposure facts: bls-ep-2025-35. Work profile: onet-31.0. Verify release details on the Sources page.