Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 51-3022, #38 of 1,410 by filings
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
- Biggest sponsor
- FPL FOOD, LLC · 34% of its filings
- Busiest state
- GA · 54% 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
$23,733
all PERM $103,272
Filings
1,797
#38 of 1,410
Approval
99.2%
field 96.8%
Median days
383
94 faster 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
$23,733above 3%
Approval rate
99.2%ahead of 87%
Median days to decision
383 daysahead of 92%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
- 5th to 95th
- 25th to 75th
- Median
- 10th and 90th
GA
$23,733 median · 956 certified cases
NE
$41,600 median · 297 certified cases
| State | Cases | 5th | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 956 | $22,901 | $22,901 | $23,733 | $23,733 | $23,733 | $26,208 | $31,200 |
| NE | 297 | $41,600 | $41,600 | $41,600 | $41,600 | $41,600 | $42,640 | $42,640 |
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
- FPL FOOD, LLC 605 filings · 100.0% approved
- Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. 424 filings · 99.8% approved
- CONSOLIDATED CATFISH PRODUCERS, LLC 221 filings · 94.5% approved
- JCG FOODS OF GEORGIA LLC DBA KOCH FOODS 199 filings · 100.0% approved
- PECO FOODS, INC 76 filings · 100.0% approved
- LOUISIANA PRIDE CATFISH, INC. 65 filings · 100.0% approved
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 1,590 of 1,797 filings, 88% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Global Immigration Associates, P.C. 424 filings · 99.8% approved
- JA EMPLOYMENT AGENCY INC 125 filings · 100.0% approved
- Law Office of Tae K Song 90 filings · 100.0% approved
- Aum Lee, LLC 59 filings · 100.0% approved
- GM INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS 22 filings
- Goldstein Law Group, LLC 4 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 724 of 1,797 filings, 40% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- Georgia 972
- Nebraska 298
- Alabama 221
- Iowa 117
- Louisiana 77
- Arkansas 76
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 1,761 of 1,797 filings.
Where the work is
- Thomasville, GA 605
- Dakota City, NE 298
- Eutaw, AL 221
- Pine Mountain Valley, GA 199
- Columbus Junction, IA 117
- Batesville, AR 76
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 1,516 of 1,797 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
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
- Vietnam 5,594
- South Korea 2,801
- China 1,389
- Cambodia 404
- Mexico 346
- Haiti 277
Worker's education
- None 9,898
- Bachelor's 873
- High School 854
- Associate's 366
- Other 229
- Master's 97
Visa held when filed
- NOT IN USA 5,811
- F-1 1,427
- TPS 287
- B-2 250
- F-2 147
- E-2 87
Schools
- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS 18
- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 13
- VAN LANG UNIVERSITY 13
- HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY 12
- KOREA NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY 12
- NGUYEN TRAI HIGH SCHOOL 12
Fields of study
- GENERAL 482
- GENERAL EDUCATION 357
- BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 113
- ACCOUNTING 79
- N/A 58
- ENGLISH 35
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 States145,700 jobs
- South Georgia nonmetropolitan areaThomasville
- Sioux City, IA-NE-SDDakota City
- Tuscaloosa, ALEutaw
- Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan areaColumbus Junction
- North Arkansas nonmetropolitan areaBatesville
- 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 | $38,300 | ||||
| South Georgia nonmetropolitan area | $37,910 | $31,221 | $33,862 | $36,483 | $39,125 |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | $47,580 | $44,554 | $45,573 | $46,571 | $47,590 |
| Tuscaloosa, AL | — | $28,746 | $31,803 | $34,882 | $37,939 |
| Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $43,160 | $38,875 | $40,435 | $42,016 | $43,576 |
| North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | — | $34,819 | $36,878 | $38,938 | $40,997 |
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 South Georgia nonmetropolitan area, 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 | $31,221 | $33,862 | $36,483 | $39,125 |
| 2025-26 | $31,262 | $34,611 | $37,960 | $41,309 |
| 2024-25 | $32,614 | $34,736 | $36,878 | $39,000 |
| 2023-24 | $30,202 | $32,594 | $35,006 | $37,398 |
| 2022-23 | $23,005 | $25,293 | $27,560 | $29,848 |
| 2021-22 | $23,733 | $26,104 | $28,496 | $30,867 |
What the job is
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
- Preparation
- Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 1-2
- DOL's education basis
- None
- Wage year 2026-27
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5.7%
- About 17,000 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- No formal educational credential
- BLS
Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth.
The work, most important first
- Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
- Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
- Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
- Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
- Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
The education workers in it report
- 36%
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Titles people use for it
Deboner, Meat Cutter, Trimmer, Wing Scorer, Beef Trimmer, Breast Trimmer, Chicken Cutter, Fish Processor.
Related jobs: Slaughterers and Meat Packers, Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products, Butchers and Meat Cutters, Packers and Packagers, Hand, Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals, Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders.
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 38 of 1,410 by volume: 37 filed at least as many filings, and 1,372 filed no more.
- Just above
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 1,832 filings
- Just below
- Validation Engineers 1,603 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
- #16 Helpers--Production Workers 3,399 filings · 40 denied
- #62 HelpersProduction Workers 1,002 filings · 80 denied
- #3 Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 9,306 filings · 46 denied
- #76 Slaughterers and Meat Packers 832 filings · 36 denied
- #101 Team Assemblers 523 filings · 12 denied
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 51-3022. 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 1,797 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 Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 1,797 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 FPL FOOD, 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