Almost everyone says hands-on skills matter
Core finding
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 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
n = 1,509 · Jul 30 – Aug 4, 2025 · MoE ±3.1%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Jul 30 – Aug 4, 2025 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,509 |
| Margin of error | ±3.1% |
| Module | AI Adoption Survey July 2025 |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- verasight-monthly-ai-july.tiiny.co
- The ability to do physical or manual work or use hand tools
Cite this question
AI Adoption Survey July 2025, fielded July 30-August 4, 2025, N=1,509 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.