Funeral Attendants
Personal Care and Service Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 39-4021.00
Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Moderate· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.17
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Show 20 hidden tasks26 rated tasks · 6 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (23.1%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- 2 rated tasks are not in the O*NET 31.0 task list; their scores are kept as published for O*NET 27.2.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Obtain burial permits and register deaths.O*NET Task ID 4516 | 1.0 |
Provide advice to mourners on how to make charitable donations in honor of the deceased.O*NET Task ID 4523 | 1.0 |
Perform various administrative tasks, such as typing documents or answering telephone calls.O*NET Task ID 20599 | 1.0 |
Manage funeral home finances, including receiving payments, making bank deposits, or performing general bookkeeping duties.O*NET Task ID 20604 | 1.0 |
Obtain doctors' signatures on death certificate and complete other paperwork, such as insurance claims forms.O*NET Task ID 20605 | 1.0 |
Prepare obituaries for newspapers.O*NET Task ID 20607 | 1.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (24)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned. | Core |
| Greet people at the funeral home. | Core |
| Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines. | Core |
| Close caskets at appropriate point in services. | Core |
| Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held. | Core |
| Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals. | Core |
| Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions. | Core |
| Carry flowers to hearses or limousines for transportation to places of interment. | Core |
| Clean funeral parlors or chapels. | Core |
| Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets. | Core |
| Provide advice to mourners on how to make charitable donations in honor of the deceased. | Core |
| Issue and store funeral equipment. | Core |
| Act as pallbearers. | Core |
| Supervise funeral processions and assist with cemetery parking. | Core |
| Deliver floral arrangements or other items to family members of the deceased. | Core |
| Perform general maintenance tasks for funeral homes, such as maintaining equipment or caring for funeral grounds. | Core |
| Obtain burial permits and register deaths. | Supplemental |
| Assist with cremations and the processing and packaging of cremated remains. | Supplemental |
| Transport the deceased to the funeral home. | Supplemental |
| Attend to the needs of the bereaved, such as by offering comfort, counseling, or after-care programs. | Supplemental |
| Perform various administrative tasks, such as typing documents or answering telephone calls. | Supplemental |
| Embalm, dress, cosmeticize, and casket the deceased. | Supplemental |
| Obtain doctors' signatures on death certificate and complete other paperwork, such as insurance claims forms. | Supplemental |
| Prepare obituaries for newspapers. | Supplemental |
0.52/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned. | E0 none |
| Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines. | E0 none |
| Close caskets at appropriate point in services. | E0 none |
| Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions. | E2 structured facilities |
| Carry flowers to hearses or limousines for transportation to places of interment. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean funeral parlors or chapels. | E0 none |
| Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Issue and store funeral equipment. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Act as pallbearers. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Supervise funeral processions and assist with cemetery parking. | E0 none |
| Deliver floral arrangements or other items to family members of the deceased. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Perform general maintenance tasks for funeral homes, such as maintaining equipment or caring for funeral grounds. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Assist with cremations and the processing and packaging of cremated remains. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Transport the deceased to the funeral home. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Embalm, dress, cosmeticize, and casket the deceased. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 31K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 32K
- Change (2025–35)
- +2.6%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $35,680
- Typical education needed for entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43232 | 장례 지도사 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 5163Undertakers and Embalmers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Undertakers and embalmers arrange funerals and perform various tasks in the disposal of human bodies.
Tasks
- (a) making arrangements for, and conducting, funerals, cremations and burials;
- (b) embalming human bodies to retard or arrest the process of decay;
- (c) conforming to health and sanitation and ensuring that legal requirements concerning embalming are met;
- (d) incising and closing incisions on various parts of the body and reshaping or reconstructing disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary;
- (e) dressing bodies and placing them in caskets;
- (f) conducting interviews to arrange for preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations.
Example occupations
Embalmer · Undertaker
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- funeral attendantESCO 5163.3Same scope
Funeral attendants lift and carry coffins prior and during the funeral service, placing it in the chapel and into the cemetery. They handle floral offerings around the coffin, direct mourners and assist with storing the equipment after the funeral.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| K2601 | Porteur / Porteuse funéraire | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| K2602 | Conseiller / Conseillère funéraire | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| K2605 | Maître / Maîtresse de cérémonie funéraire | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 5892 | Empleados de pompas fúnebres y embalsamadores | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 82401 | Berufe im Bestattungswesen - Helfer- und Anlerntätigkeiten | This occupation is narrower |
| 82402 | Berufe im Bestattungswesen - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 425 | 葬儀師，火葬作業員 | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources