Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

51-9061 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area 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)
500,250 0.9 % $14.31 $29,760 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.81 $9.84 $13.01 $17.46 $23.56
Annual Wage (2) $16,240 $20,470 $27,060 $36,320 $49,010

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Employment services 29,690 $9.76 $20,290 1 195
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 23,810 $18.13 $37,710 2 27
Plastics product manufacturing 19,850 $12.37 $25,730 3 160
Semiconductor and electronic component mfg. 18,280 $13.56 $28,210 4 126
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 14,040 $18.65 $38,800 5 22

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Power generation and supply 1,480 $28.02 $58,280 82 1
Wired telecommunications carriers 470 $24.90 $51,790 127 2
Pipeline transportation of natural gas 280 $24.55 $51,070 145 3
Federal government (OES designation) 12,740 $24.49 $50,950 7 4
Telecommunications resellers 90 $24.16 $50,250 177 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Indiana 19,680 $14.98 $31,150 0.690% 379
South Carolina 11,870 $12.97 $26,990 0.675% 401
Arkansas 7,370 $12.34 $25,660 0.658% 357
North Carolina 23,640 $12.03 $25,030 0.637% 494
Alabama 11,340 $12.98 $27,010 0.623% 403

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 270 $20.46 $42,550 0.045% 221
Alaska 300 $19.93 $41,460 0.105% 217
Michigan 26,880 $17.64 $36,700 0.617% 328
Hawaii 410 $17.04 $35,450 0.074% 258
Louisiana 5,390 $16.84 $35,030 0.294% 266

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ PMSA 740 $12.48 $25,950 1.254%
Sumter, SC MSA 450 $11.44 $23,780 1.209%
Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC MSA 1,940 $11.60 $24,130 1.184%
Anniston, AL MSA 530 $14.75 $30,670 1.138%
Dothan, AL MSA 750 $16.48 $34,290 1.131%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bremerton, WA PMSA 240 $23.12 $48,090 0.325%
Lake Charles, LA MSA 290 $21.21 $44,110 0.355%
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX MSA 370 $21.03 $43,740 0.245%
Ann Arbor, MI PMSA 1,650 $20.32 $42,270 0.585%
Bloomington-Normal, IL MSA 330 $20.21 $42,040 0.394%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for 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 mean 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.

All Production Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003