Report · Money and Finance

Almost everyone says hands-on skills matter

Reading

Physical and manual work registers as valuable to most Americans: 86% rate such work and the use of hand tools as at least somewhat important. That includes 31% who call the skills extremely important, according to an August 2025 Verasight survey.

Below that, 29% land on very important and 26% on somewhat important. About one-in-seven (14%) place little value here, with 10% saying not too important and 3% not at all.

Topline

response scale

Topline scale

Almost everyone says hands-on skills matter.

Now thinking about workers in general, how important do you think each of the following is for a worker to be successful in today’s economy? Item: The ability to do physical or manual work or use hand tools

  • Extremely important 31.4%
  • Very important 28.9%
  • Somewhat important 26.1%
  • Not too important 10.4%
  • Not at all important 3.2%

2025 · base n 1,509 · +/- 3.1%

AI Adoption Survey July 2025

Source report pending

Methodology

Source report pending
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-07-30 → 2025-08-04
Base (unweighted)
1,509
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
AI Adoption Survey July 2025

Source

  • 01
    Source report pending

Citation

AI Adoption Survey July 2025, fielded July 30-August 4, 2025, N=1,509 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.

Source report pending

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.