• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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).

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National estimates for Helpers--Production Workers
Industry profile for Helpers--Production Workers
Geographic profile for Helpers--Production Workers

National estimates for Helpers--Production Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Helpers--Production Workers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
202,860	1.3 %	$ 15.82	$ 32,910	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Helpers--Production Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 10.98	$ 13.59	$ 14.42	$ 17.85	$ 22.23
Annual Wage (2)	$ 22,830	$ 28,260	$ 30,000	$ 37,120	$ 46,230

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Industry profile for Helpers--Production Workers:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Helpers--Production Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services	36,180	1.04	$ 12.85	$ 26,720
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	18,290	3.51	$ 15.50	$ 32,240
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	10,490	4.02	$ 17.48	$ 36,370
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)	9,390	2.02	$ 15.80	$ 32,860
Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing	8,450	2.86	$ 15.60	$ 32,440

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Helpers--Production Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	3,960	4.52	$ 21.94	$ 45,630
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	10,490	4.02	$ 17.48	$ 36,370
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	18,290	3.51	$ 15.50	$ 32,240
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities	3,960	3.20	$ 15.64	$ 32,530
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	2,350	3.01	$ 18.25	$ 37,960

Top paying industries for Helpers--Production Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	(8)	(8)	$ 27.87	$ 57,960
Rail Transportation	80	0.04	$ 25.73	$ 53,510
Natural Gas Distribution	50	0.05	$ 25.26	$ 52,530
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	310	0.13	$ 23.03	$ 47,900
Building Equipment Contractors	720	0.03	$ 23.02	$ 47,890

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Geographic profile for Helpers--Production Workers:

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

States with the highest employment level in Helpers--Production Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Texas	21,430	1.75	1.22	$ 15.21	$ 31,630
California	19,670	1.19	0.83	$ 17.27	$ 35,920
Alabama	13,080	6.79	4.71	$ 12.49	$ 25,980
North Carolina	10,100	2.28	1.59	$ 14.20	$ 29,540
Illinois	8,400	1.50	1.04	$ 16.05	$ 33,370

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Helpers--Production Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alabama	13,080	6.79	4.71	$ 12.49	$ 25,980
Arkansas	6,250	5.25	3.65	$ 14.85	$ 30,890
Mississippi	4,880	4.43	3.08	$ 13.89	$ 28,880
South Carolina	5,950	2.88	2.00	$ 14.66	$ 30,490
Indiana	7,800	2.62	1.82	$ 17.39	$ 36,180

Top paying states for Helpers--Production Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming	260	1.01	0.70	$ 19.29	$ 40,130
Massachusetts	2,030	0.60	0.42	$ 18.71	$ 38,910
Alaska	180	0.61	0.43	$ 18.30	$ 38,070
Connecticut	1,210	0.77	0.53	$ 18.30	$ 38,070
Washington	2,120	0.66	0.46	$ 18.29	$ 38,050

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Helpers--Production Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	7,300	1.28	0.89	$ 16.94	$ 35,240
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	6,440	1.52	1.06	$ 17.13	$ 35,640
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	6,040	2.08	1.45	$ 15.38	$ 31,990
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	5,890	1.64	1.14	$ 15.63	$ 32,500
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,730	0.66	0.46	$ 18.15	$ 37,750
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	3,160	1.73	1.20	$ 16.02	$ 33,320
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	2,600	0.98	0.68	$ 17.20	$ 35,780
Birmingham-Hoover, AL	2,550	5.28	3.67	$ 13.12	$ 27,290
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	2,510	2.07	1.44	$ 15.16	$ 31,530
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	2,060	2.91	2.02	$ 14.72	$ 30,610

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Helpers--Production Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Gadsden, AL	860	26.92	18.69	$ 9.57	$ 19,910
Auburn-Opelika, AL	590	9.95	6.91	$ 11.29	$ 23,490
Elkhart-Goshen, IN	1,130	8.45	5.87	$ 19.09	$ 39,700
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	400	7.63	5.30	$ 11.22	$ 23,340
Florence, SC	640	7.57	5.26	$ 14.45	$ 30,050
Tuscaloosa, AL	710	7.40	5.14	$ 14.04	$ 29,200
Lebanon, PA	360	7.25	5.04	$ 14.43	$ 30,010
Harrisonburg, VA	430	7.00	4.86	$ 15.19	$ 31,580
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL	300	6.87	4.77	$ 11.92	$ 24,800
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO	1,680	6.87	4.77	$ 15.07	$ 31,350