Production Occupations

Job family · SOC major group

SOC 51-0000

Type	Job family
SOC major group	51-0000
Occupations	114
U.S. employment	7,229,550 Moderate
Median pay	$46,125
Projected 2024–34	-1.5%
AI exposure	Low

Source: SOC 2018 · BLS OEWS 2024 · BLS Projections 2024–34

Production Occupations is one of the 23 SOC major groups — the top level of the U.S. Standard Occupational Classification, the official scheme every detailed occupation rolls up to. It contains 114 occupations employing about 7,229,550 people, with a median wage of $46,125 across its occupations. BLS projects employment in this family to change -1.5% between 2024 and 2034 , with roughly 804,600 openings a year.

Occupation groups in this family

This family divides into 9 SOC minor groups — tighter clusters of related occupations. Ranked by U.S. employment.

Other Production Occupations · 34 occupations · $45,695
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers · 24 occupations · $48,465
Food Processing Workers · 8 occupations · $39,375
Supervisors of Production Workers · 1 occupations · $71,190
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers · 15 occupations · $37,660
Plant and System Operators · 12 occupations · $90,470
Woodworkers · 7 occupations · $42,530
51-5000 · 3 occupations · $45,160
Assemblers and Fabricators · 10 occupations · $48,580

Occupations in this family

Each occupation in this family with both an AI task-overlap score and a wage, plotted by task-overlap percentile (horizontal) and median-pay percentile (vertical). Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Ranked by U.S. employment (BLS OEWS May 2024). Projected change is BLS 2024–34; AI exposure is the OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" human beta rating (share of an occupation's tasks where an LLM with tools could cut the time to do them by at least half).

Occupation	Median pay	Employment	2024–34	AI exposure
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$71,190	685,140	+1.2%	23%
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	$47,460	591,180	+0.0%	18%
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	$51,000	424,040	+2.2%	4%
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	$40,900	383,860	+4.5%	8%
Machinists	$56,150	298,790	+0.0%	13%
Production Workers, All Other	$38,820	277,060	+0.5%	—
Bakers	$36,650	231,890	+5.6%	12%
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	$33,800	195,360	+5.4%	5%
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators	$49,970	176,950	-10.7%	18%
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$45,590	174,430	-12.1%	2%
Food Batchmakers	$40,790	171,660	+6.9%	15%
Helpers--Production Workers	$38,220	167,490	-8.9%	6%
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$47,590	159,500	+0.7%	1%
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$41,230	154,820	-3.8%	3%
Printing Press Operators	$45,160	145,110	-8.1%	13%
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	$37,700	141,090	+5.5%	0%
Butchers and Meat Cutters	$38,960	140,040	+1.0%	3%
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$46,060	129,850	-0.5%	14%
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	$57,090	127,410	+3.3%	7%
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	$58,260	126,750	-6.5%	13%
Sewing Machine Operators	$36,000	109,590	-10.8%	2%
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$47,680	100,840	-6.8%	8%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$49,390	96,950	-6.3%	3%
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	$46,020	79,540	-1.6%	4%
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$45,190	70,110	-12.0%	6%
Slaughterers and Meat Packers	$39,790	67,500	+2.2%	0%
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$46,980	65,700	+1.2%	8%
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	$40,440	63,350	-1.8%	3%
Food Processing Workers, All Other	$38,420	57,920	+5.3%	—
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$45,130	57,310	+2.0%	8%
Tool and Die Makers	$63,180	55,130	-10.8%	11%
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$49,500	54,200	-4.3%	9%
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	$49,900	53,380	-16.3%	2%
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$45,700	47,540	-2.3%	6%
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	$39,950	43,140	-0.6%	1%
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	$52,540	38,420	-21.1%	0%
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	$39,820	36,470	-16.1%	6%
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$47,060	36,290	-9.0%	6%
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$97,540	34,860	-2.8%	17%
Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers	$45,690	34,750	+6.2%	1%
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	$45,690	34,750	+6.2%	1%
Potters, Manufacturing	$45,690	34,750	+6.2%	1%
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing	$45,690	34,750	+6.2%	1%
Dental Laboratory Technicians	$48,310	33,920	-4.7%	4%
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers	$61,680	32,890	-14.5%	3%
Semiconductor Processing Technicians	$51,180	32,150	+10.9%	6%
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$41,600	31,510	-13.6%	4%
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	$75,190	30,780	+2.2%	10%
Biomass Plant Technicians	$99,670	30,720	-11.2%	8%
Hydroelectric Plant Technicians	$99,670	30,720	-11.2%	8%
Power Plant Operators	$99,670	30,720	-11.2%	8%
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$46,890	28,550	-2.5%	8%
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers	$65,670	28,230	+12.8%	36%
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders	$40,550	27,660	+0.6%	3%
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	$33,880	26,830	-13.5%	2%
Gem and Diamond Workers	$49,140	23,420	-5.5%	14%
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers	$49,140	23,420	-5.5%	14%
Prepress Technicians and Workers	$47,300	23,070	-14.6%	11%
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$48,630	22,350	-8.3%	7%
Upholsterers	$46,190	20,990	-1.8%	9%
Tire Builders	$55,580	20,970	+2.3%	0%
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$37,660	20,600	-9.0%	7%
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders	$55,770	20,330	-2.3%	4%
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other	$42,750	20,270	-9.5%	—
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders	$42,730	19,500	+0.6%	7%
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$48,620	18,970	-13.6%	3%
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians	$38,420	18,740	+2.3%	6%
Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators	$45,760	18,520	+4.2%	8%
Chemical Plant and System Operators	$73,540	17,840	-6.1%	15%
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers	$40,860	16,290	-4.5%	7%
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders	$47,010	16,160	+3.0%	4%
Biofuels Processing Technicians	$61,710	15,950	+1.6%	8%
Plant and System Operators, All Other	$61,710	15,950	+1.6%	8%
Gas Plant Operators	$83,400	15,910	-8.8%	8%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	$44,980	14,900	-1.1%	9%
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$47,450	14,590	-12.8%	6%
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	$38,260	14,530	-11.2%	13%
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other	$37,010	14,450	-9.4%	—
Furniture Finishers	$42,530	14,230	-3.3%	7%
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders	$41,460	13,890	+3.6%	5%

Showing 80 of 114 occupations.

AI exposure across this family

Two published studies estimate how exposed each occupation is to AI. The OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" study rates the share of an occupation's tasks an LLM (with tools) could speed up by half or more; averaged across this family it is 8% — 7th percentile of the 23 families. The independent Felten/Raj/Seamans AI Occupational Exposure index averages -0.82 here.

Exposure measures where AI could assist tasks — it is not a prediction that these jobs will be automated. High exposure often means augmentation (faster work), and many high-exposure occupations are also projected to grow.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page

Plain

Singulariki. "Production Occupations." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/job-families/production-occupations

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Production Occupations. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/job-families/production-occupations

BibTeX

@misc{singulariki-production-occupations,
  title  = {Production Occupations},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/job-families/production-occupations}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.