Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

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: 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)
429,890 1.7 % $12.95 $26,930 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.90 $10.01 $11.94 $14.96 $18.63
Annual Wage (2) $18,510 $20,820 $24,830 $31,120 $38,750


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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 135,320 3.74 $11.62 $24,160
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 23,690 4.82 $12.62 $26,260
Printing and Related Support Activities 15,100 3.34 $12.94 $26,920
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 13,770 5.11 $14.18 $29,500
Plastics Product Manufacturing 12,200 2.16 $12.98 $27,000

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities 7,480 5.42 $12.64 $26,280
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 5,290 5.28 $17.46 $36,310
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 13,770 5.11 $14.18 $29,500
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing 200 5.03 $12.04 $25,050
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 23,690 4.82 $12.62 $26,260

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Coal Mining 470 0.88 $23.59 $49,070
Rail Transportation 330 0.15 $21.63 $44,990
Natural Gas Distribution 70 0.06 $20.36 $42,350
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 220 0.06 $19.63 $40,830
Oil and Gas Extraction 40 0.02 $17.73 $36,870


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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)
California 45,560 2.85 0.93 $12.91 $26,840
Texas 44,700 3.81 1.24 $12.24 $25,460
Tennessee 21,500 7.43 2.43 $12.33 $25,640
Pennsylvania 20,920 3.64 1.19 $14.15 $29,440
Michigan 20,130 4.78 1.56 $12.40 $25,800




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 17,170 8.98 2.93 $11.83 $24,600
Arkansas 9,550 8.01 2.62 $11.84 $24,640
Tennessee 21,500 7.43 2.43 $12.33 $25,640
Indiana 17,760 5.94 1.94 $12.64 $26,280
Rhode Island 2,780 5.84 1.91 $11.41 $23,730




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming 540 1.97 0.64 $18.88 $39,260
South Dakota 30 0.08 0.03 $16.42 $34,160
Alaska 290 0.91 0.30 $16.23 $33,770
North Dakota 450 1.05 0.34 $16.01 $33,300
Oregon 3,850 2.15 0.70 $15.47 $32,180





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)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 13,250 4.51 1.47 $13.11 $27,270
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 12,320 2.92 0.95 $12.29 $25,560
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 8,610 2.37 0.77 $13.73 $28,550
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 7,160 3.75 1.22 $12.31 $25,610
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 6,960 1.06 0.34 $13.07 $27,180
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 6,640 2.60 0.85 $12.43 $25,850
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 6,450 5.34 1.75 $12.88 $26,790
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 6,370 4.08 1.33 $12.21 $25,390
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 6,220 2.56 0.84 $11.82 $24,590
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 6,070 6.19 2.02 $11.00 $22,880




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 900 25.02 8.17 $12.07 $25,090
Fort Smith, AR-OK 2,650 24.11 7.87 $10.11 $21,040
Owensboro, KY 940 19.34 6.32 $13.56 $28,210
Burlington, NC 1,110 18.82 6.15 $9.28 $19,300
Rome, GA 660 18.02 5.88 $11.62 $24,160
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 940 15.34 5.01 $11.20 $23,290
Tuscaloosa, AL 1,450 14.56 4.75 $13.28 $27,620
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1,730 13.66 4.46 $13.31 $27,690
Gettysburg, PA 410 12.79 4.18 $13.36 $27,790
Columbus, IN 560 11.49 3.75 $11.90 $24,750




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)
Ocean City, NJ 60 1.45 0.47 $20.86 $43,390
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 70 1.73 0.57 $20.53 $42,690
Longview, WA 120 3.37 1.10 $20.15 $41,920
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 40 0.49 0.16 $18.63 $38,740
Glens Falls, NY 160 3.15 1.03 $18.44 $38,350
Texarkana, TX-AR 100 1.75 0.57 $18.37 $38,210
Anchorage, AK 70 0.40 0.13 $18.26 $37,990
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 440 1.06 0.34 $17.43 $36,250
Fairbanks, AK 30 0.93 0.30 $17.36 $36,110
Lancaster, PA 1,590 6.80 2.22 $17.29 $35,970

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)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 3,220 14.97 4.89 $13.40 $27,880
North Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,320 8.72 2.85 $12.76 $26,540
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 2,280 15.68 5.12 $10.47 $21,790
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 2,220 7.99 2.61 $12.80 $26,630
Southwest Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,180 28.30 9.24 $12.55 $26,090

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)
Southwest Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,180 28.30 9.24 $12.55 $26,090
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 2,280 15.68 5.12 $10.47 $21,790
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 3,220 14.97 4.89 $13.40 $27,880
Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 840 13.04 4.26 $11.69 $24,320
North Georgia nonmetropolitan area 1,990 12.54 4.10 $11.45 $23,810

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)
Southwest Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 170 2.84 0.93 $27.12 $56,400
Northeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 390 9.15 2.99 $23.18 $48,210
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 40 0.58 0.19 $19.84 $41,260
Far West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 120 1.77 0.58 $19.41 $40,380
North Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area 60 1.41 0.46 $19.38 $40,300


About May 2016 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.

(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 2016 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2017