Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

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)
35,550 3.1 % $15.39 $32,010 2.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.92 $11.36 $14.59 $18.79 $23.13
Annual Wage (2) $18,560 $23,630 $30,340 $39,070 $48,110

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 4,670 $15.67 $32,590 1 21
Dairy product manufacturing 4,050 $14.27 $29,690 2 32
Beverage manufacturing 3,200 $15.11 $31,440 3 28
Grain and oilseed milling 1,720 $15.22 $31,660 4 24
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 1,700 $19.14 $39,820 5 4

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Tobacco manufacturing 1,450 $25.09 $52,190 6 1
Forging and stamping 350 $21.39 $44,500 18 2
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing 340 $20.59 $42,820 19 3
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 1,700 $19.14 $39,820 5 4
Electric lighting equipment manufacturing 70 $18.61 $38,710 46 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
Mississippi 920 $11.50 $23,920 0.085% 414
North Carolina 2,950 $20.19 $41,990 0.079% 193
Arkansas 850 $13.32 $27,700 0.076% 312
West Virginia 500 $17.30 $35,980 0.073% 220
Wyoming 170 $19.76 $41,090 0.071% 137

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
North Carolina 2,950 $20.19 $41,990 0.079% 193
Wyoming 170 $19.76 $41,090 0.071% 137
Indiana 980 $18.28 $38,030 0.034% 255
Nevada 130 $17.49 $36,380 0.012% 293
Utah 240 $17.32 $36,030 0.023% 250

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 520 $14.98 $31,170 0.267%
Yakima, WA MSA 190 $14.42 $29,980 0.244%
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 440 $16.03 $33,340 0.237%
Merced, CA MSA 100 $13.58 $28,250 0.165%
Owensboro, KY MSA 60 $14.53 $30,230 0.151%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point, NC MS (6) $26.97 $56,100 (6)
Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA 30 $19.94 $41,480 0.016%
Richmond-Petersburg, VA MSA (6) $19.23 $40,010 (6)
Tacoma, WA PMSA 60 $18.96 $39,430 0.026%
Gary, IN PMSA 160 $18.74 $38,980 0.065%

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