Helpers--Production Workers
51-9198.00
Updated 2026

Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

Sample of reported job titles: Assembly Line Worker, Control Room Helper, Laminator Helper, Machine Helper, Machine Operator Helper, Press Helper, Press Room Helper, Production Helper, Slitter Helper, Welder Helper

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Lift raw materials, finished products, and packed items, manually or using hoists.
  • Mark or tag identification on parts.
  • Observe equipment operations so that malfunctions can be detected, and notify operators of any malfunctions.
  • Count finished products to determine if product orders are complete.
  • Examine products to verify conformance to quality standards.
  • Operate machinery used in the production process, or assist machine operators.
  • Load and unload items from machines, conveyors, and conveyances.
  • Remove products, machine attachments, or waste material from machines.
  • Separate products according to weight, grade, size, or composition of materials used to produce them.
  • Pack and store materials and products.
  • Wash work areas, machines, equipment, vehicles, or products.
  • Place products in equipment or on work surfaces for further processing, inspecting, or wrapping.
  • Transfer finished products, raw materials, tools, or equipment between storage and work areas of plants and warehouses, by hand or using hand trucks or powered lift trucks.
  • Help production workers by performing duties of lesser skill, such as supplying or holding materials or tools, or cleaning work areas and equipment.
  • Prepare raw materials for processing.
  • Read gauges or charts, and record data obtained.
  • Start machines or equipment to begin production processes.
  • Record information, such as the number of products tested, meter readings, or dates and times of product production.
  • Turn valves to regulate flow of liquids or air, to reverse machines, to start pumps, or to regulate equipment.
  • Tie products in bundles for further processing or shipment, following prescribed procedures.
  • Measure amounts of products, lengths of extruded articles, or weights of filled containers to ensure conformance to specifications.
  • Signal coworkers to direct them to move products during the production process.
  • Position spouts or chutes of storage bins so that containers can be filled.
  • Attach slings, ropes, or cables to objects such as pipes, hoses, or bundles.
  • Break up defective products for reprocessing.
  • Perform minor repairs to machines, such as replacing damaged or worn parts.
  • Fold products and product parts during processing.
  • Cut or break flashing from materials or products.
  • Change machine gears, using wrenches.
  • Clean and lubricate equipment.
  • Dump materials such as prepared ingredients into machine hoppers prior to mixing.
  • Unclamp and hoist full reels from braiding, winding, or other fabricating machines, using power hoists.
  • Mix ingredients according to specified procedures or formulas.
  • Thread ends of items such as thread, cloth, and lace through needles and rollers, and around take-up tubes.
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Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 100% responded “Every day.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 83% responded “Every day.”
  • Time Pressure — 80% responded “Every day.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 66% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 66% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment — 56% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 52% responded “Very important.”
  • Exposed to Contaminants — 74% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 56% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 39% responded “Very high responsibility.”
  • Spend Time Standing — 51% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 67% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Walking or Running — 44% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 48% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 40% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Contact With Others — 47% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — 33% responded “Moderate responsibility.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 66% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Hazardous Equipment — 56% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body — 38% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — 28% responded “Very important.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 32% responded “Moderate results.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 46% responded “Very important.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 46% responded “Every day.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 83% responded “40 hours.”
  • Level of Competition — 59% responded “Moderately competitive.”
  • Physical Proximity — 47% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • Consequence of Error — 28% responded “Very serious.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Related Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Job Training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations involve following instructions and often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include dishwashers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, counter and rental clerks, dental laboratory technicians, and security guards.
SVP Range
(Below 6.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Software Skills

Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

Essential Skills

No essential skills met the minimum score.

Transferable Skills

No transferable skills met the minimum score.

Knowledge

  • Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 35%
     
    Less than high school diploma required
  • 32%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 20%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Extent Flexibility — The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Stamina — The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Interests

Interest code: RC
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  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
    • Physical/Manual Labor — Work involves manually unloading and moving freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or performing other physical labor.
    • Transportation/Machine Operation — Work involves driving vehicles, such as vans, trucks, trains, and buses to transport people or materials. Work can also involve operating heavy equipment, such as cranes, forklifts, bulldozers, and backhoes to move materials or earth.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Styles

  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2025)
$18.78 hourly, $39,070 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
168,500 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Decline (-1% or lower)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
23,600
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations