mover
Key facts
Enjoy physical work and helping people transition? As a mover, you play a vital role in relocations, ensuring belongings arrive safely and efficiently at their new destination. This role offers a practical career path with opportunities for employment.
Movers are essential for transporting goods and belongings, whether it's a single household or a large business relocation. Your day involves carefully handling items, disassembling and reassembling furniture and equipment, and ensuring everything is properly protected during transit. You'll work to provide a smooth and stress-free moving experience for clients.
- • Disassembling furniture and equipment for transport and reassembling it at the new location.
- • Packing, securing, and loading items onto trucks or other transport vehicles, ensuring proper protection.
- • Safely transporting goods to the destination and unloading them with care.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Labourers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport — 25 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands.
Longest-running shortage: Netherlands, 4 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person's chances. It describes a market.
Explore More
Find your career path and explore the science behind our recommendations.
Could mover fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
Do you enjoy tasks that require Cooperation?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Dependability?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Leadership?
Future Outlook for mover
The outlook for mover reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could mover change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could mover change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- follow work procedures
- follow detailed procedures for relocating specific goods
- communicate with customers
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- read pictograms
- handle delivery of furniture goods
- stack goods
Tasks most exposed to automation
- maintain inventory of tools
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Supply Chain & Transportation
A typical day as a mover
09 09:00 · Morning read pictograms
10 10:30 · Mid-morning carry objects
12 12:00 · Midday follow detailed procedures for relocating specific goods
14 14:00 · Afternoon handle delivery of furniture goods
15 15:30 · Late afternoon select equipment required for moving activities
17 17:00 · Wrap-up communicate with customers
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
-
animal transport regulations
The legal requirements relating to safe and efficient transport of animals.
- hazards associated with loading dangerous goods
- electricity
- health and safety measures in transportation
-
handle delivery of furniture goods
Handle the delivery and assemble the furniture and other goods, according to customer's needs and preferences.
-
carry objects
Carry and relocate objects from one place to another adhering to health and safety regulations. Carry objects while maintaining their integrity.
-
follow detailed procedures for relocating specific goods
Adhere to detailed procedures required for the relocation of special items such as pianos, artifacts, antique furniture, and others.
-
communicate with customers
Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
-
stack goods
Stack goods and manufactured products into containers. This may include anticipating the need for and utilising additional protective materials in stacking the products.
-
read pictograms
Interpret pictograms that indicate characteristics and required measures for handling objects through visual representations.
-
pack goods
Pack different kinds of goods such as finished manufactured products or goods in use. Pack goods by hand in boxes, bags and other types of containers.
-
use communication devices
Operate communication devices in order to interact with customers, colleagues, and others.
-
follow work procedures
Adhere to procedures at work in a structured and systematic manner.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
Take the free Career DNA assessment to see how mover aligns with your interests, work style, and future path. In less than 10 minutes, you will get a personalized fit signal and a roadmap for what to do next.
Scan to continue on mobileGrowth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does mover fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of physical demands are involved in being a mover?
- The role requires significant physical strength and stamina. You'll be lifting, carrying, and maneuvering heavy objects frequently. Good physical condition and proper lifting techniques are crucial.
- Do I need any specific training or qualifications to become a mover?
- While formal qualifications aren't always required, on-the-job training is common. Experience in a physically demanding role or knowledge of furniture assembly can be beneficial. Some companies may provide specific training in packing and safety procedures.
- What are the typical work conditions for a mover?
- Movers often work in various environments, including homes, offices, and warehouses. The work can be outdoors in different weather conditions. You'll typically work as an employee within a moving company.
- Mover — is there a shortage in Europe?
- No. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a surplus was reported in 11 of the 15 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and 7 more. 4 countries reported a shortage. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Mover — what does it pay in the United States?
- $38,940 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $24,560 to $46,280. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.