Production Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 51-1011

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

About 67,700 projected annual openings shape how to read First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers against Nuclear Power Reactor Operators, Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers, Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators, Tool and Die Makers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators ($123K) , Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers ($63K) , Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators ($79K) , Tool and Die Makers ($64K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 51-1011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Enforce safety and sanitation regulations
  2. 2. Keep records of employees' attendance and hours worked
  3. 3. Inspect materials, products, or equipment to detect defects or malfunctions
  4. 4. Read and analyze charts, work orders, production schedules, and other records and reports to determine production requirements and to eva…
  5. 5. Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals
  6. 6. Confer with other supervisors to coordinate operations and activities within or between departments
  7. 7. Interpret specifications, blueprints, job orders, and company policies and procedures for workers
  8. 8. Observe work and monitor gauges, dials, and other indicators to ensure that operators conform to production or processing standards
  9. 9. Direct and coordinate the activities of employees engaged in the production or processing of goods, such as inspectors, machine setters…
  10. 10. Conduct employee training in equipment operations or work and safety procedures, or assign employee training to experienced workers
  11. 11. Evaluate employee performance
  12. 12. Confer with management or subordinates to resolve worker problems, complaints, or grievances

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 51-1011 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Production and Processing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.9
  3. 3. Time Management 3.9
  4. 4. Management of Personnel Resources 3.9
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.8
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.8
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  8. 8. Coordination 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Production and Processing 4.3
  2. 2. Administration and Management 4.1
  3. 3. Personnel and Human Resources 3.6
  4. 4. English Language 3.5
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.2
  6. 6. Mathematics 3.2
Projected annual openings
67,700
growth + transfers + exits
National median $74,450/yr
$74K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
673,430
Estimated US jobs
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

1. Delaware $79,100
2. District of Columbia $80,030
3. New Hampshire $79,310
4. Wyoming $90,390
5. New Jersey $81,110
6. Washington $79,310
7. Rhode Island $81,650
8. Massachusetts $79,920
9. Connecticut $83,150
10. Maine $78,970

Other Production Occupations titles

  1. 1. Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators $78,620
  2. 2. Tool and Die Makers $64,050
  3. 3. Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers $65,380
  4. 4. Power Plant Operators $102,040
  5. 5. Nuclear Power Reactor Operators $122,890
  6. 6. Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers $62,750

Roughly 67,700 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers. Median pay is $74,450 in Production Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Delaware at $79,100. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators at $122,890. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers pay-rank #8 in Production Occupations

Among 105 detailed Production Occupations with a published OEWS median, First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers is pay-rank #8, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 51-1011 · national median $74,450 · upper third of Production Occupations (#8/105). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 51-1011

Delaware · top state for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

$79K published median

District of Columbia · #2 state pay

$80K · behind Delaware

Nuclear Power Reactor Operators

Highest-pay peer vs First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers · $123K

Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

Lower-pay peer beside First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers · $63K

Compare First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Production Occupations titles sit near First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers at the top of the pay table? ▼
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers is pay-rank #8 of 105 detailed Production Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Chemical Plant and System Operators ($78K), Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators ($79K), Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers ($68K), Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers ($65K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do first-line supervisors of production and operating workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers. Leading ones include: Enforce safety and sanitation regulations; Keep records of employees' attendance and hours worked; Inspect materials, products, or equipment to detect defects or malfunctions; Read and analyze charts, work orders, production schedules, and other records and reports to determine production requirements and to eva…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers? ▼
For SOC 51-1011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Time Management (3.9), Management of Personnel Resources (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Production and Processing, Administration and Management, Personnel and Human Resources. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $74,450 as the national median for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers. The published 10th-90th range is $47,130 to $108,750. Beside Nuclear Power Reactor Operators ($122,890), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 67,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers? ▼
Delaware ($79,100), District of Columbia ($80,030), New Hampshire ($79,310) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 51-1011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics