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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003


51-9198 Helpers--Production Workers

Help production workers by performing duties of lesser skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Exclude apprentice workers and report them with the appropriate production occupation (51-1011 through 51-9199).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation


National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
452,700 2.2 % $10.09 $20,980 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.59 $7.67 $9.42 $11.77 $14.85
Annual Wage (2) $13,700 $15,960 $19,590 $24,470 $30,890


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Employment services 85,070 $8.10 $16,860 1 170
Converted paper product manufacturing 22,570 $11.22 $23,330 2 52
Printing and related support activities 21,670 $10.60 $22,040 3 76
Plastics product manufacturing 16,570 $10.10 $21,010 4 94
Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing 14,390 $11.80 $24,550 5 40

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Power generation and supply 410 $17.26 $35,900 102 1
Coal mining 360 $16.65 $34,630 105 2
Natural gas distribution 100 $16.62 $34,580 143 3
Rail transportation 490 $15.73 $32,710 98 4
Metal ore mining 60 $15.59 $32,420 150 5


State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Arkansas 9,960 $9.63 $20,030 0.891% 533
Illinois 39,860 $8.86 $18,430 0.691% 711
Wisconsin 17,360 $11.15 $23,190 0.645% 601
Utah 6,490 $9.04 $18,810 0.622% 595
Indiana 15,550 $10.38 $21,580 0.545% 629

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Maryland 4,970 $11.80 $24,530 0.203% 563
Massachusetts 5,980 $11.64 $24,220 0.188% 618
Kentucky 6,170 $11.37 $23,650 0.358% 504
Washington 5,550 $11.29 $23,490 0.217% 631
Ohio 22,520 $11.22 $23,340 0.422% 631


Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA 1,560 $8.83 $18,360 1.606%
Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA 1,600 $10.05 $20,910 1.385%
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI MSA 2,730 $11.21 $23,320 1.382%
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA 2,130 $10.51 $21,860 1.299%
Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC MSA 1,920 $10.38 $21,600 1.174%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Pittsfield, MA MSA 100 $15.16 $31,540 0.239%
Lima, OH MSA 240 $14.62 $30,410 0.328%
Topeka, KS MSA 260 $14.29 $29,730 0.268%
Lincoln, NE MSA 290 $14.27 $29,690 0.196%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA 310 $14.12 $29,380 0.216%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates


To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:


These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004

 

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