• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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 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)
181,810	1.0 %	$ 18.35	$ 38,160	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Helpers--Production Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 13.76	$ 15.58	$ 17.65	$ 20.48	$ 24.00
Annual Wage (2)	$ 28,630	$ 32,400	$ 36,700	$ 42,600	$ 49,910

---

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	23,960	0.64	$ 15.78	$ 32,830
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	19,250	3.54	$ 17.95	$ 37,340
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	9,650	3.54	$ 20.09	$ 41,790
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)	9,010	1.81	$ 17.98	$ 37,400
Printing and Related Support Activities	8,000	2.12	$ 17.29	$ 35,960

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)
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	19,250	3.54	$ 17.95	$ 37,340
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	9,650	3.54	$ 20.09	$ 41,790
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	2,410	2.73	$ 24.58	$ 51,120
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities	3,270	2.50	$ 17.97	$ 37,380
Sawmills and Wood Preservation	2,190	2.38	$ 17.80	$ 37,020

Top paying industries for Helpers--Production Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rail Transportation	60	0.03	$ 32.98	$ 68,590
Coal Mining	50	0.12	$ 25.83	$ 53,730
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	550	0.19	$ 24.89	$ 51,770
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	2,410	2.73	$ 24.58	$ 51,120
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	930	0.18	$ 24.16	$ 50,250

---

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	27,760	2.05	1.71	$ 16.80	$ 34,950
California	22,830	1.27	1.06	$ 20.56	$ 42,760
Alabama	9,350	4.55	3.80	$ 16.25	$ 33,790
Illinois	7,690	1.28	1.07	$ 19.31	$ 40,170
North Carolina	6,870	1.43	1.20	$ 17.64	$ 36,680

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)
Arkansas	6,030	4.74	3.96	$ 17.42	$ 36,230
Alabama	9,350	4.55	3.80	$ 16.25	$ 33,790
Mississippi	3,710	3.22	2.69	$ 15.65	$ 32,550
Idaho	1,890	2.29	1.92	$ 17.37	$ 36,140
Texas	27,760	2.05	1.71	$ 16.80	$ 34,950

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	200	0.72	0.61	$ 23.11	$ 48,080
Alaska	150	0.48	0.40	$ 22.49	$ 46,790
Hawaii	140	0.23	0.19	$ 21.00	$ 43,680
Maine	730	1.17	0.98	$ 20.68	$ 43,010
California	22,830	1.27	1.06	$ 20.56	$ 42,760

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	8,560	1.38	1.16	$ 20.06	$ 41,730
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,360	1.85	1.55	$ 17.42	$ 36,220
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	7,280	2.29	1.91	$ 16.70	$ 34,730
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	5,100	1.13	0.95	$ 19.04	$ 39,600
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	4,690	0.49	0.41	$ 19.37	$ 40,300
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,360	0.84	0.70	$ 18.25	$ 37,970
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	2,300	0.95	0.79	$ 21.71	$ 45,160
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	2,130	1.40	1.17	$ 21.54	$ 44,790
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	2,100	1.26	1.05	$ 19.53	$ 40,620
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	2,060	0.73	0.61	$ 19.87	$ 41,320

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)
Morristown, TN	430	9.23	7.71	$ 16.04	$ 33,360
Decatur, AL	350	6.12	5.11	$ 17.14	$ 35,660
Gadsden, AL	180	5.46	4.56	$ 14.99	$ 31,170
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	460	5.38	4.49	$ 20.13	$ 41,870
Waco, TX	670	5.34	4.46	$ 16.11	$ 33,510
Florence, SC	440	5.02	4.19	$ 17.90	$ 37,230
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	260	4.72	3.94	$ 13.95	$ 29,020
Fort Smith, AR-OK	500	4.67	3.90	$ 17.82	$ 37,070
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO	1,240	4.65	3.88	$ 18.21	$ 37,870
Tuscaloosa, AL	480	4.63	3.87	$ 16.42	$ 34,150