Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

51-5022 Prepress Technicians and Workers

Set up and prepare material for printing presses. Include prepress functions, such as compositing, typesetting, layout, paste-up, camera operating, scanning, film stripping, and photoengraving.

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)
82,970 1.5 % $15.95 $33,170 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.84 $11.43 $15.22 $19.91 $24.64
Annual Wage (2) $18,390 $23,770 $31,660 $41,410 $51,260

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
Printing and related support activities 48,050 $16.81 $34,950 1 12
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 17,480 $14.29 $29,710 2 25
Specialized design services 2,080 $17.12 $35,620 3 10
Advertising and related services 1,570 $15.00 $31,210 4 19
Business support services 1,260 $13.93 $28,960 5 26

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Federal government (OES designation) 370 $30.04 $62,480 10 1
Management and technical consulting services (6) $20.34 $42,300 (6) 2
Machinery and supply merchant wholesalers (6) $19.74 $41,060 (6) 3
Boiler, tank, and shipping container mfg. 140 $19.21 $39,960 17 4
State government (OES designation) 300 $18.10 $37,660 12 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
Wisconsin 3,530 $16.62 $34,570 0.131% 367
Minnesota 2,760 $18.51 $38,510 0.106% 337
Vermont 300 $15.28 $31,780 0.103% 263
Illinois 5,880 $17.61 $36,620 0.102% 369
District of Columbia 550 $26.39 $54,890 0.093% 151

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 550 $26.39 $54,890 0.093% 151
Rhode Island 170 $19.94 $41,470 0.036% 216
New Jersey 2,800 $19.74 $41,050 0.072% 342
Minnesota 2,760 $18.51 $38,510 0.106% 337
Massachusetts 2,190 $17.93 $37,300 0.069% 388

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
Terre Haute, IN MSA 180 $15.19 $31,600 0.281%
Lancaster, PA MSA 580 $16.16 $33,610 0.265%
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI MSA 460 $17.38 $36,160 0.233%
Lynchburg, VA MSA 180 $11.91 $24,770 0.194%
Benton Harbor, MI MSA 120 $15.31 $31,850 0.190%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 560 $22.45 $46,690 0.057%
Jersey City, NJ PMSA 180 $21.04 $43,760 0.075%
Brockton, MA PMSA (6) $20.48 $42,590 (6)
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA 2,200 $20.27 $42,160 0.082%
New York, NY PMSA 2,180 $20.27 $42,160 0.055%

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