Metal and machinery
Blacksmith
Key facts
This job is declining in the United States. AI exposure: very low according to the ILO, low according to the BLS. Employment change in the United States by 2035: −13.4% (BLS). Future-proof jobs use similar skills: see "What next?".
The job
Blacksmiths, hammersmiths and forging press workers (ISCO 7221). Blacksmiths, hammersmiths and forging press workers hammer and forge bars, rods, ingots and plates of iron, steel or other metals, and draw wire to make and repair various kinds of tools, metal articles, pieces of equipment, and agricultural and related implements.
Page built from official classifications (ILO, ESCO); figures cover all the jobs grouped here.
62 job titles linked to this page
Titles from the European ESCO classification. They are also used for search.
- artisan blacksmith
- automatic casting forging machine operator
- automatic casting forging machine technician
- automatic casting machine operator
- automatic casting machine technician
- automatic casting- forging machine operative
- automatic casting- forging machine operator
- automatic forging machine operative
- automatic forging machine operator
- blacksmith
- craft blacksmith
- die forger
- drop forge hand
- drop forge operative
- drop forge operator
- drop forge set up operator
- drop forger
- drop forging hammer worker
- farrier
- farriers
- forge operative
- forge press operative
- forge press operator
- forge worker
- forger tender
- forgesmith
- forgeworker
- forging press operator
- forging roll operator
- forging roll technician
- foundry moulding operator
- foundry patternmaker technician
- heritage blacksmith
- horse hoof trimmer
- horse pedicure specialist
- horse shoe fitter
- horseshoe maker
- hydraulic forging press worker
- hydraulic foundry moulder
- hydraulic foundry moulding operator
- hydraulic foundry patternmaker
- hydraulic foundry patternmaker technician
- hydraulic patternmaking operator
- hydraulic patternmaking technician
- hydraulic sheet metal apprentice
- hydraulic sheet metal operative
- hydraulic sheet metal technical
- hydraulic sheet metal worker
- mechanical forging press forge hand
- mechanical forging press forge operator
- mechanical forging press worker
- ornamental blacksmith
- patternmaking operator
- patternmaking technician
- pedicure specialist
- sheet metal apprentice
- sheet metal operative
- sheet metal technician
- shoesmith
- smith
- spring forge operator
- spring forger
What next?
Future-proof jobs that draw on skills close to this one. They are leads to explore, not an assessment of your profile.
- ChangingIndustrial maintenance technician
- ChangingHVAC technician
- ChangingElectrician
Indicative matches: at launch they will come from the skills listed in official occupational directories.
Gauges
No US indicator measures hiring difficulty job by job: this gauge stays empty. How countries are compared
Sources
- AI exposure categories and employment projections, 2025-2035 (XLSX file)Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States · August 2026 · official statistics
- Generative AI and Jobs: a refined global index of occupational exposureInternational Labour Organization and NASK · May 2025 · large survey
- ESCO, European classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations (job titles and O*NET crosswalk)European Commission · version 1.2 · official statistics
- Jobs in 2030: projections by occupational family (summary table)Dares and France Stratégie · March 2022 · official statistics
- Labour needs survey (BMO) 2026France Travail · 2026 · large survey
- EURES report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025, annexEuropean Labour Authority · June 2026 · official statistics
Checked on 27 October 2026.