Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

51-9111 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Include cannery workers who pack food products.

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)
390,380 3.5 % $11.18 $23,260 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.89 $8.06 $10.20 $13.46 $17.10
Annual Wage (2) $14,320 $16,760 $21,210 $28,000 $35,580

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 74,170 $8.41 $17,490 1 137
Animal slaughtering and processing 22,970 $9.66 $20,090 2 112
Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty 21,400 $11.39 $23,700 3 64
Beverage manufacturing 20,750 $14.06 $29,240 4 14
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 20,370 $13.30 $27,660 5 22

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Tobacco manufacturing 2,720 $22.68 $47,180 25 1
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 2,860 $18.90 $39,320 23 2
Federal government (OES designation) 100 $18.65 $38,800 123 3
Motor vehicle manufacturing (6) $18.32 $38,110 (6) 4
Oil and gas extraction 240 $16.06 $33,400 107 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
Arkansas 14,490 $9.47 $19,700 1.293% 500
Wisconsin 16,260 $11.91 $24,780 0.604% 524
Delaware 2,170 $15.55 $32,340 0.541% 276
Nebraska 3,920 $10.78 $22,410 0.449% 446
North Carolina 16,320 $13.34 $27,740 0.439% 425

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Delaware 2,170 $15.55 $32,340 0.541% 276
North Carolina 16,320 $13.34 $27,740 0.439% 425
Wyoming 280 $13.06 $27,160 0.117% 282
Iowa 3,990 $12.74 $26,510 0.282% 419
New Hampshire 980 $12.66 $26,330 0.162% 408

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
Racine, WI PMSA 1,550 $11.71 $24,360 2.041%
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA 1,680 $9.90 $20,580 1.717%
Yakima, WA MSA 1,210 $10.18 $21,180 1.554%
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA 2,490 $9.38 $19,500 1.544%
Kenosha, WI PMSA 530 $14.89 $30,970 1.029%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Albany, GA MSA 540 $18.95 $39,410 0.969%
Syracuse, NY MSA 1,560 $17.07 $35,510 0.469%
Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point, NC MS 5,280 $16.64 $34,600 0.837%
Cedar Rapids, IA MSA 500 $16.36 $34,040 0.432%
Nashua, NH PMSA 370 $16.12 $33,530 0.411%

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.

(6) Estimates not released.

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