Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 53-7064

Packers and Packagers, Hand

About 74,000 projected annual openings shape how to read Packers and Packagers, Hand against Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers, Wellhead Pumpers, Locomotive Engineers, Transportation Inspectors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Packers and Packagers, Hand: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Wellhead Pumpers ($70K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) , Transportation Inspectors ($92K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Packers and Packagers, Hand publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7064 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met
  2. 2. Measure, weigh, and count products and materials
  3. 3. Remove completed or defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment, such as conveyors, or in specified areas, such as…
  4. 4. Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records
  5. 5. Seal containers or materials, using glues, fasteners, nails, and hand tools
  6. 6. Assemble, line, and pad cartons, crates, and containers, using hand tools
  7. 7. Obtain, move, and sort products, materials, containers, and orders, using hand tools
  8. 8. Place or pour products or materials into containers, using hand tools and equipment, or fill containers from spouts or chutes
  9. 9. Mark and label containers, container tags, or products, using marking tools
  10. 10. Load materials and products into package processing equipment
  11. 11. Transport packages to customers' vehicles
  12. 12. Clean containers, materials, supplies, or work areas, using cleaning solutions and hand tools

Packers and Packagers, Hand: O*NET ranks Monitoring first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7064 - lead skill Monitoring at 3.0 ; lead knowledge Production and Processing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Monitoring 3.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 2.8
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 2.8
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 2.6
  5. 5. Speaking 2.6
  6. 6. Coordination 2.6
  7. 7. Quality Control Analysis 2.3
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 2.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Production and Processing 4.0
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 3.2
  3. 3. English Language 3.0
  4. 4. Administrative 2.8
  5. 5. Mathematics 2.7
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 2.7
Projected annual openings
74,000
growth + transfers + exits
National median $36,280/yr
$36K
National median
↓ -5%
Growth 2024-2034
559,820
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Packers and Packagers, Hand

1. District of Columbia $40,910
2. Colorado $40,730
3. Minnesota $40,310
4. Alaska $41,670
5. Washington $39,220
6. Nebraska $38,880
7. Missouri $37,670
8. Kansas $44,460
9. Vermont $39,440
10. New Jersey $43,840

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  2. 2. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  3. 3. Transportation Inspectors $92,100
  4. 4. Air Traffic Controllers $148,080
  5. 5. Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators $77,320
  6. 6. Wellhead Pumpers $69,960

Roughly 74,000 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Packers and Packagers, Hand. Median pay is $36,280 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations.

Employment Projections expect -5% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. 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: District of Columbia at $40,910. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Packers and Packagers, Hand pay-rank #46 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

On the Transportation and Material Moving Occupations median table (50 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Packers and Packagers, Hand lands at #46, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-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 53-7064 · national median $36,280 · lower third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#46/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Packers and Packagers, Hand salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7064

District of Columbia · top state for Packers and Packagers, Hand

$41K published median

Colorado · #2 state pay

$41K · behind District of Columbia

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Packers and Packagers, Hand · $232K

Wellhead Pumpers

Lower-pay peer beside Packers and Packagers, Hand · $70K

Compare Packers and Packagers, Hand

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Openings and labor-flow next reads

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Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Packers and Packagers, Hand land on the Transportation and Material Moving Occupations median table? ▼
Packers and Packagers, Hand is pay-rank #46 of 50 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment ($36K), Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants ($36K), Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians ($35K), Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other ($37K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do packers and packagers, hand do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Packers and Packagers, Hand. Leading ones include: Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met; Measure, weigh, and count products and materials; Remove completed or defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment, such as conveyors, or in specified areas, such as…; Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for packers and packagers, hand? ▼
For SOC 53-7064, O*NET importance scores lead with Monitoring (3.0), Active Listening (2.8), Critical Thinking (2.8), Reading Comprehension (2.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Production and Processing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Packers and Packagers, Hand? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $36,280 as the national median for Packers and Packagers, Hand. The published 10th-90th range is $27,890 to $47,100. Beside Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232,140), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Packers and Packagers, Hand? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Packers and Packagers, Hand is -5%. Projected annual openings: about 74,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Packers and Packagers, Hand? ▼
District of Columbia ($40,910), Colorado ($40,730), Minnesota ($40,310) 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 Packers and Packagers, Hand card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7064. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Packers and Packagers, Hand. 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