Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

51-9012 Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Set up, operate, or tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment; filter presses; shaker screens; centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, fermenting, or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids, gases, or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. Include dairy processing equipment operators. Exclude "Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders" (51-9011).

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)
37,360 3.2 % $15.99 $33,260 1.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.32 $11.93 $15.25 $19.70 $23.97
Annual Wage (2) $19,380 $24,810 $31,720 $40,980 $49,850

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
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 4,620 $16.46 $34,230 1 17
Dairy product manufacturing 4,490 $14.39 $29,930 2 38
Beverage manufacturing 3,940 $16.18 $33,650 3 21
Grain and oilseed milling 2,220 $15.48 $32,210 4 28
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 1,740 $19.47 $40,490 5 5

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Tobacco manufacturing 1,370 $25.36 $52,750 7 1
Forging and stamping 360 $22.86 $47,550 20 2
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing 400 $21.60 $44,930 19 3
Basic chemical manufacturing 790 $20.09 $41,800 14 4
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 1,740 $19.47 $40,490 5 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
Wyoming 200 $20.09 $41,780 0.083% 150
Arkansas 880 $13.72 $28,530 0.079% 319
West Virginia 530 $17.18 $35,730 0.078% 244
North Carolina 2,570 $21.47 $44,650 0.069% 194
Idaho 380 $13.16 $27,370 0.067% 365

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
North Carolina 2,570 $21.47 $44,650 0.069% 194
Wyoming 200 $20.09 $41,780 0.083% 150
Alaska 60 $20.09 $41,780 0.021% 240
Virginia 1,020 $19.53 $40,620 0.030% 263
Utah 230 $18.68 $38,850 0.022% 238

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
Santa Rosa, CA PMSA 600 $16.32 $33,950 0.315%
Yakima, WA MSA 240 $15.01 $31,220 0.313%
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 450 $16.31 $33,930 0.240%
Yolo, CA PMSA 170 $8.82 $18,340 0.193%
Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point, NC MS 1,220 $27.29 $56,760 0.193%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 40 $28.58 $59,450 0.004%
Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point, NC MS 1,220 $27.29 $56,760 0.193%
Richmond-Petersburg, VA MSA (6) $20.31 $42,240 (6)
Denver, CO PMSA (6) $19.94 $41,470 (6)
Tacoma, WA PMSA 70 $19.58 $40,730 0.030%

About May 2003 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) 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 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

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004