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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

51-9198 Helpers--Production Workers

Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Apprentice workers are classified in the appropriate production occupations (51-0000).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
303,030 1.9 % $14.68 $30,540 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.90 $11.59 $13.99 $17.32 $20.48
Annual Wage (2) $20,590 $24,120 $29,100 $36,030 $42,600


Industry profile for this occupation:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services 78,690 2.14 $13.51 $28,100
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 24,120 4.57 $14.97 $31,140
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 12,090 4.45 $15.61 $32,470
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) 11,710 2.38 $14.53 $30,230
Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing 10,810 3.44 $14.50 $30,160

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing 250 8.42 $14.04 $29,190
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 24,120 4.57 $14.97 $31,140
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 12,090 4.45 $15.61 $32,470
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 3,560 3.85 $18.79 $39,090
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities 5,400 3.83 $14.36 $29,870

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 60 0.05 $22.59 $46,980
Oil and Gas Extraction 30 0.02 $19.17 $39,860
Nonresidential Building Construction 850 0.10 $18.87 $39,250
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 3,560 3.85 $18.79 $39,090
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 500 0.03 $18.62 $38,740


Geographic profile for this occupation:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Texas 33,760 2.72 1.32 $14.32 $29,780
California 26,810 1.54 0.75 $14.87 $30,920
Alabama 17,370 8.80 4.27 $12.47 $25,940
Indiana 16,760 5.45 2.64 $14.82 $30,830
Illinois 13,980 2.32 1.12 $15.15 $31,500




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alabama 17,370 8.80 4.27 $12.47 $25,940
Arkansas 9,480 7.78 3.77 $13.56 $28,210
Indiana 16,760 5.45 2.64 $14.82 $30,830
Idaho 2,890 3.97 1.92 $16.23 $33,760
Iowa 6,130 3.96 1.92 $15.94 $33,160




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming 270 0.97 0.47 $17.71 $36,830
North Dakota 600 1.42 0.69 $17.66 $36,730
Washington 3,020 0.91 0.44 $17.53 $36,460
Connecticut 1,440 0.87 0.42 $17.26 $35,910
Wisconsin 7,040 2.45 1.19 $16.63 $34,590





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 12,110 1.94 0.94 $14.30 $29,750
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 10,340 2.83 1.37 $13.74 $28,590
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 9,750 3.20 1.55 $14.78 $30,740
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 9,200 1.97 0.95 $15.37 $31,970
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 5,650 0.58 0.28 $15.21 $31,630
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 5,340 2.71 1.31 $15.07 $31,340
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 4,750 4.49 2.18 $14.05 $29,220
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 4,590 3.68 1.79 $13.01 $27,060
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 4,020 1.47 0.71 $13.76 $28,620
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 3,940 1.37 0.66 $15.93 $33,130




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Gadsden, AL 1,670 46.02 22.31 $10.08 $20,970
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL 1,000 22.83 11.06 $15.40 $32,040
Gettysburg, PA 600 18.06 8.76 $14.50 $30,160
Walla Walla, WA 470 18.04 8.74 $15.82 $32,900
Kokomo, IN 610 16.01 7.76 (8) (8)
Auburn-Opelika, AL 880 15.01 7.28 $10.52 $21,890
Twin Falls, ID 640 13.68 6.63 $13.97 $29,060
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1,660 12.16 5.89 $15.98 $33,230
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 2,800 11.24 5.45 $13.19 $27,440
Provo-Orem, UT 2,460 9.70 4.70 $13.12 $27,290




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 330 1.49 0.72 $21.27 $44,250
Monroe, MI 80 2.00 0.97 $21.19 $44,070
Anchorage, AK 50 0.30 0.14 $20.30 $42,220
Racine, WI 120 1.53 0.74 $19.28 $40,110
Leominster-Gardner, MA 200 3.87 1.87 $18.89 $39,300
Elmira, NY 50 1.35 0.66 $18.82 $39,150
Santa Rosa, CA 520 2.51 1.22 $18.82 $39,140
New Haven, CT 190 0.67 0.33 $18.76 $39,030
Longview, WA 130 3.41 1.65 $18.71 $38,920
Lima, OH 110 2.16 1.04 $18.56 $38,610

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 3,790 25.78 12.49 $13.38 $27,830
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,340 5.94 2.88 $16.44 $34,200
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 1,780 8.17 3.96 $15.14 $31,490
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 1,710 7.60 3.68 $15.61 $32,460
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,530 4.57 2.21 $15.25 $31,720

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 3,790 25.78 12.49 $13.38 $27,830
Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 950 14.40 6.98 $12.73 $26,480
Lower Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 660 11.97 5.80 (8) (8)
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area 1,520 9.46 4.59 $14.71 $30,600
West Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 820 9.40 4.56 $13.41 $27,900

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 240 3.10 1.50 $19.85 $41,290
Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area 200 2.82 1.37 $19.57 $40,710
Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 80 0.75 0.37 $19.15 $39,830
Arizona nonmetropolitan area 90 0.97 0.47 $19.13 $39,790
Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 450 2.49 1.21 $18.97 $39,460


About May 2019 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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 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.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020