Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

47-3015 Helpers—Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties of lesser skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Exclude apprentice workers and report them with the appropriate skilled construction trade occupation (47-2011 through 47-2221). Exclude construction laborers who do not primarily assist plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers, and classify them under "Construction Laborers" (47-2061).

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)
78,570 3.1 % $11.30 $23,510 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.61 $8.99 $10.69 $13.11 $16.15
Annual Wage (2) $15,830 $18,690 $22,230 $27,280 $33,580

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
Building equipment contractors 62,250 $11.26 $23,420 1 16
Utility system construction 5,820 $11.50 $23,930 2 13
Nonresidential building construction 2,760 $11.58 $24,090 3 12
Other specialty trade contractors 1,710 $10.78 $22,430 4 18
Building foundation and exterior contractors 900 $10.21 $21,240 5 21

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Colleges and universities 40 $16.75 $34,840 20 1
Local government (OES designation) 440 $15.96 $33,190 7 2
Natural gas distribution 270 $14.13 $29,390 12 3
Power generation and supply 110 $13.72 $28,540 15 4
Hardware and plumbing merchant wholesalers (6) $13.14 $27,330 (6) 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
New Mexico 1,390 $9.89 $20,560 0.190% 461
Nevada 1,730 $11.17 $23,240 0.164% 476
Arizona 3,400 $10.13 $21,060 0.151% 519
Louisiana 2,330 $10.26 $21,350 0.127% 510
North Carolina 4,350 $10.57 $21,990 0.117% 554

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Illinois 1,330 $16.08 $33,450 0.023% 385
Massachusetts 730 $14.06 $29,240 0.023% 491
Colorado 1,460 $13.74 $28,580 0.069% 436
Washington 1,160 $13.71 $28,510 0.045% 509
New Hampshire 210 $13.60 $28,290 0.035% 371

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
Tucson, AZ MSA 930 $9.03 $18,780 0.281%
Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL MSA 420 $10.73 $22,330 0.235%
Albuquerque, NM MSA 790 $9.72 $20,220 0.231%
Sherman-Denison, TX MSA 90 $8.49 $17,650 0.213%
Houma, LA MSA 170 $9.99 $20,780 0.211%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
New Bedford, MA PMSA (6) $18.09 $37,630 (6)
San Francisco, CA PMSA 440 $17.98 $37,410 0.044%
Chicago, IL PMSA 950 $17.73 $36,870 0.024%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 250 $17.29 $35,950 0.019%
St. Louis, MO-IL MSA 130 $16.30 $33,900 0.010%

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 Construction and Extraction 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