Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

51-9198 Helpers—Production Workers

Help production workers by performing duties of lesser skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Exclude apprentice workers and report them with the appropriate production occupation (51-1011 through 51-9199).

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)
464,390 2.0 % $9.97 $20,730 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.59 $7.59 $9.25 $11.54 $14.63
Annual Wage (2) $13,710 $15,790 $19,240 $23,990 $30,430

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 103,640 $8.00 $16,630 1 180
Converted paper product manufacturing 22,990 $11.07 $23,030 2 61
Printing and related support activities 20,280 $10.51 $21,850 3 86
Plastics product manufacturing 15,650 $9.98 $20,760 4 108
Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing 12,520 $11.47 $23,860 5 49

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Coal mining 520 $20.13 $41,870 100 1
Highway, street, and bridge construction 480 $16.90 $35,150 104 2
Power generation and supply 600 $16.71 $34,770 95 3
Metal ore mining 230 $16.24 $33,780 138 4
Rail transportation 410 $15.96 $33,200 110 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 9,180 $9.70 $20,180 0.819% 491
Illinois 38,380 $8.83 $18,370 0.662% 652
Wisconsin 17,740 $11.21 $23,320 0.659% 549
Georgia 22,350 $9.08 $18,890 0.591% 595
Utah 5,970 $9.17 $19,080 0.572% 545

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska (6) $12.39 $25,770 (6) 372
Kentucky 7,540 $11.75 $24,450 0.439% 426
Maryland 4,770 $11.50 $23,920 0.196% 520
Wisconsin 17,740 $11.21 $23,320 0.659% 549
Ohio 24,340 $11.21 $23,320 0.455% 564

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
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA 1,870 $8.13 $16,910 1.911%
Decatur, AL MSA 830 $10.51 $21,860 1.514%
Waco, TX MSA 1,450 $8.52 $17,720 1.471%
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI MSA 2,870 $10.81 $22,490 1.452%
Mansfield, OH MSA 950 $11.40 $23,720 1.244%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV MSA 210 $15.73 $32,720 0.437%
Pittsfield, MA MSA 130 $15.05 $31,300 0.310%
Anchorage, AK MSA 120 $14.98 $31,160 0.088%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA 300 $14.48 $30,130 0.211%
Canton-Massillon, OH MSA 790 $13.71 $28,520 0.445%

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