Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 51-9198.00, #16 of 1,410 by filings
Helpers--Production Workers
- Biggest sponsor
- Labor Guys, LLC · 61% of its filings
- Busiest state
- PA · 27% of its filings
- Major group
- Production · SOC 51
Weighing an offer for this job?
Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.
Median wage
$29,994
all PERM $103,272
Filings
3,399
#16 of 1,410
Approval
98.8%
field 96.8%
Median days
485
8 slower than the field
What it pays
Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.
Median offered wage
$29,994above 9%
Approval rate
98.8%ahead of 80%
Median days to decision
485 daysahead of 20%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
- 5th to 95th
- 25th to 75th
- Median
- 10th and 90th
FY2024
$30,597 median · 288 certified cases
FY2025
$29,120 median · 1,512 certified cases
FY2026
$30,160 median · 1,501 certified cases
- 10th
- $28,891
- +8.0% since FY2024
- Median
- $30,160
- -1.4% since FY2024
- 90th
- $33,259
- -0.1% since FY2024
- 95th
- $34,320
- +3.1% since FY2024
These years are not measuring the same group of filings. The count moves by 5.3 times between the largest year and the smallest, so a change in the ladder is at least partly a change in which employers filed rather than a change in what the work pays. Read the shape, not the difference.
| Fiscal year | Cases | 5th | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 288 | $24,960 | $26,749 | $27,061 | $30,597 | $32,240 | $33,280 | $33,280 |
| FY2025 | 1,512 | $23,514 | $25,501 | $27,622 | $29,120 | $30,160 | $31,200 | $33,280 |
| FY2026 | 1,501 | $28,662 | $28,891 | $29,286 | $30,160 | $31,325 | $33,259 | $34,320 |
A median answers whether pay moved. More
- 5th to 95th
- 25th to 75th
- Median
- 10th and 90th
PA
$30,160 median · 899 certified cases
IN
$29,286 median · 575 certified cases
GA
$27,955 median · 553 certified cases
| State | Cases | 5th | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 899 | $30,160 | $30,160 | $30,160 | $30,160 | $30,160 | $31,325 | $31,325 |
| IN | 575 | $26,749 | $29,286 | $29,286 | $29,286 | $31,013 | $31,013 | $33,280 |
| GA | 553 | $22,100 | $22,693 | $25,501 | $27,955 | $30,514 | $31,200 | $32,240 |
One SOC code, one federal process, and a wage range that moves with the state. More
Who files it
The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.
Sponsors filing it
- Labor Guys, LLC 2,071 filings · 99.0% approved
- RESER'S FINE FOODS, INC. 199 filings · 99.5% approved
- Sentech Services, Inc 141 filings · 100.0% approved
- Georgia Plating Inc 115 filings · 100.0% approved
- Exlabesa Extrusion Tifton, Inc 109 filings · 100.0% approved
- CRESPAC INC. 78 filings · 100.0% approved
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 2,713 of 3,399 filings, 80% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Najla Abu-Shaaban & Associates PC 246 filings · 99.6% approved
- LAW OFFICE OF TAE K SONG 89 filings · 100.0% approved
- Momentum Immigration 89 filings · 100.0% approved
- Premier International Law Group 80 filings · 100.0% approved
- Aum & Lee, LLC 34 filings · 100.0% approved
- The Law Offices of Guillermo D. Uriarte 32 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 570 of 3,399 filings, 17% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- Pennsylvania 922
- Indiana 579
- Georgia 567
- Ohio 201
- California 161
- Texas 134
How this is counted
The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 2,564 of 3,399 filings.
Where the work is
- Allentown, PA 911
- Indianapolis, IN 505
- Columbus, OH 194
- Tolleson, AZ 132
- Sparks, NV 128
- Covington, GA 115
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 1,985 of 3,399 filings.
- Every sponsor that files it, by state, approval rate, offered wage and time to a decision
- Every filing for it, PERM, wage requests and H-1B, case by case
Newspapers it advertised in
- 922 cases
The Philadelphia Inquirer
- 503 cases
The Indianapolis Star
- 191 cases
The Columbus Dispatch
- 156 cases
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- 132 cases
The Arizona Republic
- 128 cases
Reno Gazette Journal
How this is counted
The newspaper or professional journal named for each case's two print ads, one count per paper per case, however the filer spelled it.
Additional steps it used
- 1 cases
Job search websites
- 1 cases
Local or ethnic newspapers
- 1 cases
Radio or TV ads
How this is counted
The steps a professional job needs beyond the job order and the ads, by the number of cases that name each.
How long before filing it began
- 0.0%
Under 30 days
- under 0.1%
30 to 59 days
- 17%
60 to 89 days
- 20%
90 to 119 days
- 19%
120 to 149 days
- 44%
150 to 180 days
- 0.5%
Over 180 days
How this is counted
Days from the first recruitment step to the filing. 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e) puts the job order and ads 30 to 180 days before filing.
Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023
From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.
Country of citizenship
- Mexico 106
- Nepal 7
- Venezuela 4
- Vietnam 4
- Albania 2
- Brazil 2
Worker's education
- None 126
- Associate's 4
- Bachelor's 2
Visa held when filed
- NOT IN USA 81
- H-2B 30
- F-1 13
- B-2 1
- TPS 1
Schools
- FUNDACION UNIVERSIDAD DE AMERICA 1
- I.T.U. DR. FEDERICO RIVERO PALACIOQUOT; 1
- SANTA MARIA UNIVERSITY 1
- TALLER CINCO CENTRO DE DISEO 1
- UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES 1
- UNIVERSIDAD FERMIN TORO 1
Fields of study
- BACHELOR IN SICENCE IN PETROLEUM ENGINEER 1
- HIGHER UNIVERSITY TECHNICIAN IN INDUSTRIAL MECHANICS 1
- LAWYER 1
- MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE ENGINEER 1
- SYSTEMS ENGINEER 1
- TEXTILE DESIGN 1
The job itself
What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.
- United States165,700 jobs
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJAllentown
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, INIndianapolis
- Columbus, OHColumbus
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZTolleson
- Reno, NVSparks
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
- median PERM offer
| Area | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $39,070 | ||||
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $41,450 | $34,944 | $38,605 | $42,266 | $45,926 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $38,540 | $34,902 | $38,064 | $41,205 | $44,366 |
| Columbus, OH | $37,990 | $34,424 | $38,459 | $42,494 | $46,530 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $39,720 | $35,194 | $38,126 | $41,059 | $43,992 |
| Reno, NV | $37,540 | $31,470 | $35,693 | $39,915 | $44,138 |
How these figures fit together
BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.
The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More
DOL's levels for this job in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ, year by year
Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.
| Wage year | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $34,944 | $38,605 | $42,266 | $45,926 |
| 2025-26 | $33,800 | $37,357 | $40,934 | $44,491 |
| 2024-25 | $31,325 | $35,298 | $39,291 | $43,264 |
| 2023-24 | $30,160 | $33,530 | $36,920 | $40,290 |
| 2022-23 | $26,021 | $29,952 | $33,904 | $37,835 |
| 2021-22 | $24,149 | $27,851 | $31,533 | $35,235 |
What the job is
Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
- Preparation
- Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 1-2
- DOL's education basis
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Wage year 2026-27
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -8.2%
- About 20,900 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
The work, most important first
- 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.
The education workers in it report
- 35%
Less than a High School Diploma
- 32%
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 20%
Post-Secondary Certificate
- 6%
Some College Courses
- 8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.
Titles people use for it
Control Room Helper, Press Helper, Production Helper, Welder Helper, Assembly Line Worker, Laminator Helper, Machine Helper, Machine Operator Helper.
Related jobs: Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, Helpers--Extraction Workers, Machine Feeders and Offbearers, Helpers--Carpenters, Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters, Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons.
This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Against other jobs
Where this sits in the ranking
Ranked 16 of 1,410 by volume: 15 filed at least as many filings, and 1,394 filed no more.
- Just above
- Business Intelligence Analysts 3,466 filings
- Just below
- Mechanical Engineers 2,992 filings
Other production roles
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.
- #24 Team Assemblers 2,504 filings · 5 denied
- #3 Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 9,306 filings · 46 denied
- #38 Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 1,797 filings · 14 denied
- #62 HelpersProduction Workers 1,002 filings · 80 denied
- #76 Slaughterers and Meat Packers 832 filings · 36 denied
- #101 Team Assemblers 523 filings · 12 denied
The same job on H-1B
3 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $45,760 a year; the middle half ran $44,720 to $48,880. By state and year in the salary explorer.
Notes on these numbers
Reading the wage
A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.
What the median is
The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.
What these numbers don't say
4 notes
- The code is the identity
- This one is SOC 51-9198.00. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
- A median isn’t an offer
- It's the middle of all 3,399 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
- Approval isn’t about the occupation
- The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Helpers--Production Workers. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 3,399 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is Labor Guys, LLC. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.
The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built
Weighing an offer?
Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.
Setting one?
All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.
Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load
O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.
O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.
BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.
BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it