What Does a Labor Foreman Do?
The labor foreman runs the general labor crew on a construction site: the people who set up and tear down, dig and backfill trenches, strip forms, move material, run compactors and jackhammers, and keep the site clean enough for the trades to work. Each morning starts with the superintendent's plan for the day and ends with a timesheet. Unlike a trade foreman, this person rarely owns a finished installation. The job is keeping hands and equipment in the right place so concrete pours, deliveries and inspections happen on time.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Coal Mine Production Foreman, Construction Foreman, Construction Supervisor, Electrical Supervisor, Field Operations Supervisor, Field Supervisor, Insulation Foreman, Roustabout Field Supervisor.
Labor Foreman Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a labor foreman include:
- Split the crew each morning between form stripping, trench backfill, material handling and cleanup based on the superintendent's schedule.
- Walk the site before work starts to check excavations, guardrails, ladders and housekeeping for hazards.
- Run the daily toolbox talk and correct crew members who skip hard hats, eye protection or fall protection.
- Read site plans and grade stakes to locate trenches, pads and laydown areas, and mark them out with paint, string lines and a tape.
- Line up laborers and equipment ahead of concrete pours so there are enough hands for placing, vibrating and cleanup.
- Coordinate with trade foremen so laborers clear and stage areas before carpenters, masons or pipe crews need them.
- Request rental equipment, fuel, gravel, sandbags and consumables, and report broken compactors, saws or pumps for repair.
- Work alongside the crew with shovels, pry bars, plate compactors and demolition hammers when the schedule is tight.
- Fill out daily reports, timesheets and incident forms and turn them in to the superintendent.
- Show new laborers how to run tools safely and recommend which crew members are ready for more responsibility or a trade apprenticeship.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a labor foreman, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- OSHA 30-Hour Construction training, which many general contractors expect of anyone running a crew
- Working knowledge of trench and excavation safety, including when shoring or a trench box is required
- Competent person training for excavation or scaffolding, which some employers require of labor foremen
- Reading site plans, grade stakes and basic blueprints well enough to lay out the day's work
- Hands-on experience with plate compactors, jackhammers, concrete saws, trash pumps and aerial personnel lifts
- Basic Microsoft Excel or mobile timesheet skills for tracking hours and daily logs
- Physical stamina to work the same long days in heat and cold as the crew
- Giving firm, clear directions to a crew whose makeup often changes from week to week, with English and Spanish a real advantage on many US sites
Education and Training
Most labor foremen come up through the ranks as construction laborers, learning the work on site rather than in a classroom. Among construction supervisors as a group, about 27 percent report a post-secondary certificate, 22 percent less than a high school diploma and 21 percent a high school diploma or GED. Union laborer apprenticeships cover safety, concrete, pipe laying and equipment use. Before promotion you will typically need several years of site experience, an OSHA 30-Hour Construction card and a record of running a section of work without close supervision. Some contractors also send new foremen to in-house leadership training and first aid and CPR courses.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $63,400 - $101,460 per year, with a median of $79,920.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers.
BLS projects employment of first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers to grow about 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 67,000 openings a year. Labor foremen are essential on every construction project. Proven foremen can advance to general foreman, superintendent, or project management roles.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers.
Labor Foreman Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $53,280 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $63,400 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $79,920 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $101,460 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $128,260 |
Highest-Paying States for Labor Foremans
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Washington ($109,570), Illinois ($105,750), New Jersey ($105,510), Oregon ($103,070), Hawaii ($102,630). Pay is lowest in Mississippi ($66,910), Alabama ($64,120), Arkansas ($61,230).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $64,120 |
| Alaska | $102,140 |
| Arizona | $78,550 |
| Arkansas | $61,230 |
| California | $97,680 |
| Colorado | $81,230 |
| Connecticut | $92,260 |
| Delaware | $81,100 |
| District of Columbia | $86,520 |
| Florida | $75,790 |
| Georgia | $78,430 |
| Hawaii | $102,630 |
| Idaho | $75,550 |
| Illinois | $105,750 |
| Indiana | $82,530 |
| Iowa | $78,510 |
| Kansas | $76,780 |
| Kentucky | $73,490 |
| Louisiana | $75,360 |
| Maine | $77,290 |
| Maryland | $78,760 |
| Massachusetts | $97,850 |
| Michigan | $78,180 |
| Minnesota | $97,610 |
| Mississippi | $66,910 |
| Missouri | $87,520 |
| Montana | $76,910 |
| Nebraska | $75,570 |
| Nevada | $81,990 |
| New Hampshire | $81,220 |
| New Jersey | $105,510 |
| New Mexico | $75,130 |
| New York | $95,700 |
| North Carolina | $75,270 |
| North Dakota | $81,370 |
| Ohio | $79,580 |
| Oklahoma | $73,040 |
| Oregon | $103,070 |
| Pennsylvania | $81,540 |
| Rhode Island | $98,590 |
| South Carolina | $75,350 |
| South Dakota | $77,690 |
| Tennessee | $74,470 |
| Texas | $74,520 |
| Utah | $77,280 |
| Vermont | $82,490 |
| Virginia | $78,640 |
| Washington | $109,570 |
| West Virginia | $80,060 |
| Wisconsin | $85,350 |
| Wyoming | $78,250 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 94% are on the phone every day
- 91% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 91% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 90% wear safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses or a hard hat every day
- 63% use email every day
- 63% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 61% work around hazardous equipment every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Post-secondary certificate | 27% |
| Less than high school | 22% |
| High school diploma or GED | 21% |
| Associate's degree | 12% |
Tools and Software Labor Foremans Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Coordination, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Management of Personnel Resources, Reading Comprehension.
Knowledge areas used most: Administration and Management, Building and Construction, Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service, English Language.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 3 of 5, which means medium preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 47-1011.00 (First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.