Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

51-9061 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

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)
489,020 0.9 % $14.91 $31,010 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.25 $10.37 $13.56 $18.18 $24.29
Annual Wage (2) $17,160 $21,570 $28,200 $37,810 $50,520

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 24,740 $18.10 $37,650
Employment services 24,640 $11.36 $23,630
Plastics product manufacturing 19,890 $12.69 $26,400
Architectural and engineering services 16,660 $17.15 $35,670
Semiconductor and electronic component mfg. 16,010 $13.76 $28,630

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Wired telecommunications carriers 230 $27.61 $57,430
Power generation and supply 1,460 $27.02 $56,210
Federal government (OES designation) 12,520 $25.47 $52,990
Natural gas distribution 860 $24.03 $49,990
Pipeline transportation of crude oil 60 $23.90 $49,700

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
South Carolina 13,150 $12.96 $26,960 0.745%
North Carolina 24,360 $12.95 $26,950 0.658%
Indiana 18,660 $15.40 $32,040 0.654%
Michigan 27,960 $18.36 $38,180 0.649%
Arkansas 7,140 $13.25 $27,550 0.638%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Alaska 420 $22.12 $46,000 0.144%
District of Columbia 270 $20.00 $41,600 0.045%
Michigan 27,960 $18.36 $38,180 0.649%
Hawaii 390 $17.81 $37,040 0.070%
Louisiana 5,210 $17.39 $36,170 0.281%

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
Sumter, SC MSA 520 $12.34 $25,660 1.400%
Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC MSA 2,240 $12.03 $25,020 1.376%
Danville, VA MSA 590 $14.04 $29,200 1.346%
Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC MSA 5,400 $12.66 $26,320 1.181%
Anniston, AL MSA 530 $14.28 $29,700 1.141%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bremerton, WA PMSA 250 $23.41 $48,700 0.331%
Lake Charles, LA MSA 220 $22.62 $47,050 0.270%
Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI MSA 670 $21.75 $45,240 0.404%
Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS MSA 320 $21.31 $44,330 0.216%
Detroit, MI PMSA 14,250 $20.32 $42,280 0.721%

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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.

All Production Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005