Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-9111 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Occupational Description:
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2025

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Minnesota	7,700	832	$21.38/hr	$17.42/hr	$17.99/hr	$21.12/hr	$23.43/hr	$27.43/hr

Leading Industries for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Natural Resources and Mining	N/A	N/A
Manufacturing	5,420	$21.85/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	460	$22.74/hr
Information	N/A	N/A
Professional and Business Services	1,700	$17.44/hr

Other Regional Data for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northeast Balance of State	30	$32.18/hr	N/A
Duluth MN-WI MSA	70	$23.02/hr	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	80	$24.04/hr	1.5%
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	120	$23.11/hr	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	180	$23.14/hr	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	240	$20.42/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	290	$23.66/hr	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	290	$19.31/hr	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	410	$22.39/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	470	$22.25/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	640	$20.62/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	710	$22.25/hr	6.7%
Northwest Minnesota	760	$21.23/hr	8.7%
Southeast Balance of State	810	$21.45/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	840	$21.85/hr	8.8%
Southeast Minnesota	880	$21.45/hr	6.7%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	4,230	$19.65/hr	3.9%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	4,790	$20.51/hr	N/A
Minnesota	7,700	$21.12/hr	5.4%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change -
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	N/A	N/A	N/A
Machine Feeders and Offbearers	400	$24.18/hr	1.7%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	N/A	$25.08/hr	1.4%
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	140	$24.70/hr	-16.7%
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	N/A	$27.11/hr	2.6%
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	790	$24.67/hr	5.5%
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders	80	$29.39/hr	0.6%
Pourers and Casters, Metal	20	$24.54/hr	-2.0%

Task for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Count and record finished and rejected packaged items.
Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.
Stack finished packaged items, or wrap protective material around each item, and pack the items in cartons or containers.
Clean packaging containers, line and pad crates, or assemble cartons to prepare for product packing.
Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.
Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels.
Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material.
Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.
Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.
Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly.