Prison guards
In the ILO's assessment few of the job's tasks can be done by generative AI, or the scores are too spread out to reach gradient 1 — generative AI does not meaningfully take over the core of the work.
Exposure is not job loss: it shows how much of the work generative AI could do today. Whether that turns into transformation, productivity gains or cuts depends on employers, regulation — and on you.
0 = today’s generative AI cannot perform any of the job’s tasks, 100 = it could do all of them fully. The pale band is the spread across tasks.
Work out your own score ↓What can you do?
The AI analysis for this occupation is still being prepared — the background process covers a few occupations every day.
Task by task
The ILO scored every task of the occupation separately, as the average of two AI models (GPT-4o and Gemini). The pale band is the range between the two models' scores, the dot the ILO's final score (for a few tasks expert review placed it outside the band).
- Assisting with the implementation of rehabilitation programmes22
- Supervising prisoners at work and meals, and during recreation periods17
- Making periodic inspection tours of cells and inspecting and maintaining the security of locks, windows, doors and gates15
- Escorting prisoners in transit and during temporary leave.12
- Searching arriving prisoners, putting their valuables in safekeeping, escorting prisoners to cells and locking them in11
- Observing the conduct and behaviour of prisoners to prevent disturbances and escapes11
- Patrolling prison areas to prevent escapes10
How much does it affect you?
Every job is different: mark which of these tasks you do and how much, and we'll compute your own, time-weighted score.
For each task: I don't do it · sometimes · most of my job.
- Assisting with the implementation of rehabilitation programmes(22)
- Supervising prisoners at work and meals, and during recreation periods(17)
- Making periodic inspection tours of cells and inspecting and maintaining the security of locks, windows, doors and gates(15)
- Escorting prisoners in transit and during temporary leave.(12)
- Searching arriving prisoners, putting their valuables in safekeeping, escorting prisoners to cells and locking them in(11)
- Observing the conduct and behaviour of prisoners to prevent disturbances and escapes(11)
- Patrolling prison areas to prevent escapes(10)
You are exactly at the occupation average. (The occupation's score: 14.)
About 0% of your working time goes to highly exposed tasks (score ≥ 50).
- • Assisting with the implementation of rehabilitation programmes
- • Supervising prisoners at work and meals, and during recreation periods
- • Patrolling prison areas to prevent escapes
- • Observing the conduct and behaviour of prisoners to prevent disturbances and escapes
An estimate from the ILO task scores. Everything is computed in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
How many people work in this occupational group?
Share of the Protective services workers group in total employment, by country (Eurostat, ISCO 2-digit — 4-digit breakdowns are not public by country).
Table view
| Country | Protective services workers |
|---|---|
| Romania | 2.9% · 221 thousand · 2025 |
| Bulgaria | 2.8% · 83 thousand · 2025 |
| Greece | 2.4% · 106 thousand · 2025 |
| Malta | 2.4% · 8 thousand · 2025 |
| Iceland | 2.3% · 5 thousand · 2025 |
| Hungary | 2.3% · 107 thousand · 2025 |
| Spain | 2.3% · 503 thousand · 2025 |
| Croatia | 2.2% · 37 thousand · 2025 |
| Portugal | 2.1% · 110 thousand · 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 1.9% · 641 thousand · 2025 |
| Cyprus | 1.9% · 9 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovakia | 1.8% · 48 thousand · 2025 |
| Czechia | 1.8% · 94 thousand · 2025 |
| France | 1.5% · 447 thousand · 2025 |
| Lithuania | 1.4% · 21 thousand · 2025 |
| Germany | 1.3% · 563 thousand · 2025 |
| Poland | 1.3% · 227 thousand · 2025 |
| Estonia | 1.3% · 9 thousand · 2025 |
| Latvia | 1.3% · 11 thousand · 2025 |
| Italy | 1.2% · 286 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovenia | 1.2% · 12 thousand · 2025 |
| Belgium | 1.2% · 60 thousand · 2025 |
| Ireland | 1.1% · 31 thousand · 2025 |
| Austria | 1.0% · 46 thousand · 2025 |
| Netherlands | 0.9% · 90 thousand · 2025 |
| Finland | 0.9% · 23 thousand · 2025 |
| Switzerland | 0.9% · 43 thousand · 2025 |
| Sweden | 0.9% · 46 thousand · 2025 |
| Denmark | 0.8% · 26 thousand · 2025 |
| Norway | 0.7% · 20 thousand · 2025 |
What do they earn?
Mean gross monthly earnings in the major occupational group (Service and sales workers). Eurostat's earnings survey only publishes pay by occupation at 1 digit, so this is the job's broader group. Enterprises with 10+ employees, 2022.
By country, at purchasing power parity (PPS/month), so countries with different price levels can be compared.
- Switzerland3,559
- Ireland2,981
- Iceland2,762
- Norway2,734
- Luxembourg2,698
- Belgium2,689
- Denmark2,619
- Germany2,310
- Sweden2,292
- Finland2,182
- Netherlands2,147
- Austria2,135
- EU272,105
- France2,099
- Italy2,088
- Slovenia1,822
- Malta1,773
- Spain1,759
- Lithuania1,577
- Czechia1,467
- Poland1,464
- Croatia1,458
- Greece1,421
- Cyprus1,410
- Slovakia1,403
- Romania1,372
- Hungary1,299
- Estonia1,266
- Portugal1,202
- Latvia1,186
- Bulgaria917
Source: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey (earn_ses22_21), every four years. The United Kingdom is not covered by the survey.
Outlook to 2035
Employment in the Protective services workers group according to Cedefop's 2026 forecast.
thousand · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · 2026–2035: projection
Replacement demand is the jobs left by people retiring or changing careers — even a shrinking occupation can have many openings.
Related occupations
Sources: ILO WP140 (2025) · Eurostat lfsa_egai2d · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · WEF Future of Jobs 2025 · ESCO. The exposure score measures how much of an occupation's tasks generative AI could perform — not whether the job disappears. For information only, not career advice. How do we calculate this?