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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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)
239,340 1.7 % $ 15.39 $ 32,000 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Helpers--Production Workers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 10.43 $ 12.47 $ 14.66 $ 17.96 $ 21.72
Annual Wage (2) $ 21,700 $ 25,930 $ 30,500 $ 37,360 $ 45,180


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 48,610 1.52 $ 13.97 $ 29,050
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 20,120 3.78 $ 15.02 $ 31,240
Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing 10,990 3.76 $ 15.39 $ 32,020
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) 10,740 2.27 $ 15.04 $ 31,280
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 9,690 3.68 $ 16.58 $ 34,490

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)
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing 160 5.84 $ 15.62 $ 32,490
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 3,830 4.18 $ 19.05 $ 39,620
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities 5,150 3.92 $ 15.12 $ 31,450
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 20,120 3.78 $ 15.02 $ 31,240
Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing 10,990 3.76 $ 15.39 $ 32,020

Top paying industries for Helpers--Production Workers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Support Activities for Water Transportation 30 0.04 $ 27.94 $ 58,110
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 250 0.02 $ 20.74 $ 43,140
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 300 0.08 $ 20.07 $ 41,730
Metal Ore Mining 40 0.11 $ 19.94 $ 41,480
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 350 0.16 $ 19.43 $ 40,410


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 25,620 2.12 1.23 $ 14.54 $ 30,250
California 25,010 1.52 0.88 $ 16.30 $ 33,890
Alabama 14,000 7.35 4.27 $ 12.91 $ 26,860
Indiana 12,540 4.30 2.50 $ 15.29 $ 31,800
Illinois 11,370 2.02 1.17 $ 15.73 $ 32,720




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 9,010 7.65 4.44 $ 14.19 $ 29,520
Alabama 14,000 7.35 4.27 $ 12.91 $ 26,860
Indiana 12,540 4.30 2.50 $ 15.29 $ 31,800
Idaho 2,710 3.77 2.19 $ 16.33 $ 33,960
Mississippi 3,100 2.88 1.67 $ 13.98 $ 29,080




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 280 1.08 0.63 $ 18.48 $ 38,450
Connecticut 1,220 0.79 0.46 $ 18.11 $ 37,670
Hawaii 280 0.49 0.28 $ 18.09 $ 37,620
Washington 2,360 0.74 0.43 $ 17.80 $ 37,020
Massachusetts 3,970 1.18 0.69 $ 17.67 $ 36,750





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 11,480 1.97 1.15 $ 15.91 $ 33,090
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 8,670 1.99 1.16 $ 16.39 $ 34,090
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 8,030 2.24 1.30 $ 13.77 $ 28,650
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 7,950 2.68 1.56 $ 15.57 $ 32,380
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 4,710 0.53 0.31 $ 16.44 $ 34,200
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 3,670 3.60 2.09 $ 14.21 $ 29,560
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 3,510 2.90 1.68 $ 14.29 $ 29,720
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 3,240 1.75 1.02 $ 16.94 $ 35,240
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 3,120 1.19 0.69 $ 15.02 $ 31,240
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2,930 1.09 0.63 $ 16.51 $ 34,340




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)
Gettysburg, PA 490 16.14 9.38 $ 15.18 $ 31,570
Kokomo, IN 550 15.15 8.80 $ 12.36 $ 25,700
Tuscaloosa, AL 1,440 14.33 8.33 $ 17.45 $ 36,300
Twin Falls, ID 540 11.69 6.79 $ 14.44 $ 30,030
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1,450 11.51 6.69 $ 17.36 $ 36,110
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 2,720 10.99 6.39 $ 14.07 $ 29,270
Auburn-Opelika, AL 610 10.68 6.21 $ 10.14 $ 21,100
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 460 8.94 5.20 $ 10.60 $ 22,050
Mobile, AL 1,270 7.51 4.36 $ 12.20 $ 25,380
Harrisonburg, VA 460 7.46 4.34 $ 16.52 $ 34,360




Top paying metropolitan areas for Helpers--Production Workers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Monroe, MI 60 1.62 0.94 $ 23.37 $ 48,620
Lewiston, ID-WA 120 4.47 2.60 $ 22.37 $ 46,520
Longview, WA 100 2.66 1.55 $ 20.71 $ 43,080
Elmira, NY 40 1.31 0.76 $ 20.52 $ 42,680
Duluth, MN-WI 90 0.76 0.44 $ 20.45 $ 42,540
Napa, CA 100 1.49 0.87 $ 20.42 $ 42,470
Leominster-Gardner, MA (8) (8) (8) $ 20.24 $ 42,110
Manchester, NH 100 0.90 0.53 $ 20.10 $ 41,800
Pittsfield, MA (8) (8) (8) $ 20.02 $ 41,640
Eau Claire, WI 110 1.44 0.84 $ 19.84 $ 41,260

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Helpers--Production Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 2,450 17.21 10.00 $ 14.18 $ 29,490
Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 1,380 9.40 5.46 $ 14.05 $ 29,230
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 1,200 5.93 3.45 $ 15.43 $ 32,100
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 1,110 3.55 2.06 $ 17.24 $ 35,860
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,080 4.03 2.34 $ 14.31 $ 29,770

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 2,450 17.21 10.00 $ 14.18 $ 29,490
Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 750 11.72 6.81 $ 12.96 $ 26,960
West Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 830 9.72 5.65 $ 13.83 $ 28,760
Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 630 9.70 5.64 $ 14.07 $ 29,270
Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 1,380 9.40 5.46 $ 14.05 $ 29,230

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Helpers--Production Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 100 1.06 0.62 $ 21.39 $ 44,500
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 310 4.23 2.46 $ 21.26 $ 44,220
Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area 200 2.95 1.72 $ 20.21 $ 42,050
Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 120 1.92 1.12 $ 19.75 $ 41,080
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 60 0.56 0.33 $ 19.62 $ 40,810


About May 2020 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 OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021