Helpers--production workers job market in Minnesota
Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.
The headline
Industry employment fell while average weekly industry wages rose
A data-driven view of the industries that employ Helpers--production workers in Minnesota.
Occupation pay
What Helpers--production workers earn in Minnesota
BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.
Median annual wage
$44,720Minnesota- Middle 50% of published wages
- $38,330 – $47,840
- U.S. median annual wage
- $39,070
- Reference period
- May 2025
The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.
Pay around Minnesota
How median pay varies by metro area
Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Helpers--production workers, compared with the Minnesota median of $44,720.
Fargo, ND-MN$50,190+12.2% vs. state
Duluth, MN-WI$47,760+6.8% vs. state
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$44,770+0.1% vs. state
St. Cloud, MN$42,620−4.7% vs. state
Mankato, MN$41,530−7.1% vs. state
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN$37,090−17.1% vs. state
Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Minnesota median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.
Verified snapshot
Market at a Glance
Key changes in Minnesota’s weighted industry mix.
Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Published coverage: 51,806 represented establishments, 83.84% of the published industry mix.
Local research
What the data shows for helpers--production workers in Minnesota
Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.
The highest-paying metro has a smaller employment market
Higher pay and a larger employment market appear in different metros in this Minnesota comparison. Among 4 metro estimates with usable employment and median-pay figures in OEWS May 2025, Duluth, MN-WI has the highest median annual pay, $47,760, and an employment estimate of 70. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI has the largest employment estimate at 1,800, with median pay of $44,770. The pay premium is 6.7%; employment size describes existing jobs, not available vacancies.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSSome metro estimates cross state lines. Higher nominal pay does not establish better living standards or better chances of finding a job.
Industry groups are pulling in opposite directions
The leading industry groups for this occupation show a split in Minnesota. In January to March 2026, Construction employment changed +2.2% year over year, while Manufacturing changed -0.7%. Together, the groups examined cover 98.5% of the occupation's national industry mix. The overall industry measure combines these opposing movements.
January to March 2026 · BLS QCEWPublished median pay is above the U.S. median
Median annual pay in Minnesota stands 14.5% above the U.S. estimate for helpers--production workers. The underlying OEWS May 2025 figures are $44,720 for the state and $39,070 nationally. This is a nominal wage comparison; living costs and individual pay differences are outside its scope.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSEmployment and establishment counts moved apart
In the industries that employ this occupation, Minnesota's establishment count changed +1.1% year over year in January to March 2026, while employment changed -0.7%. The measures therefore point in opposite directions. These observations do not establish an explanation for that difference.
January to March 2026 · BLS QCEWIndustry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology
Employment trends
Minnesota industry employment over time
Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.
- Minnesota · 2026 Q1-0.7%
- U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-1.0%
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View every published value
| Quarter | Minnesota | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | -1.3% | 100% |
| 2024 Q3 | -1.6% | 100% |
| 2024 Q4 | -1.5% | 100% |
| 2025 Q1 | -1.7% | 100% |
| 2025 Q2 | -1.5% | 100% |
| 2025 Q3 | -1.4% | 100% |
| 2025 Q4 | -0.7% | 100% |
| 2026 Q1 | -0.7% | 100% |
How to read this chart
State trend and national reference
The solid line follows Minnesota’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.
- Published quarters
- 8
- Earliest quarter
- 2024 Q2
- Latest quarter
- 2026 Q1
- U.S. benchmark
- -1.0%
Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.
Industry context
Where Helpers--production workers Work
The occupation mix determines which Minnesota industries are weighted into this view.
| Industry group | Occupation mix | Employment change | Establishments | Avg. weekly industry wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 71.2% | -0.7% | 8,466 | $1,835 |
| Professional and business services | 12.6% | -0.9% | 43,340 | $2,451 |
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 7.5% | -1.3% | 38,906 | $1,399 |
| Other services | 3.5% | -0.6% | 20,022 | $940 |
| Construction | 3.0% | +2.2% | 18,339 | $1,873 |
| Mining and logging | 0.7% | -6.5% | 451 | $2,209 |
Which industries are growing?
One weighted industry is growing
Only weighted industries with a published positive Minnesota employment change are listed.
- Construction+2.2%
The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.
Current Minnesota context
Current Minnesota Market Signals
Statewide indicators for all occupations in Minnesota. They are not Helpers--production workers demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.
Statewide job postings
Indeed job postings · Minnesota
Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score
Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View values: Indeed postings index
| Observation date | Index (Feb 2020 = 100) |
|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | 90.31 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 89.30 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 88.88 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 89.27 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 89.57 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 89.56 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 88.83 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 89.79 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 90.34 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 90.10 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 90.34 |
| Oct 9, 2026 | 91.47 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 92.36 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 92.44 |
This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.
Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.
Career context
Related occupations
Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.
Questions answered by this release
Helpers--production workers in Minnesota FAQs
Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.
Is employment growing for Helpers--production workers in Minnesota?
The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Minnesota industries weighted to Helpers--production workers changed -0.7% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -1.0% nationwide.
Are wages for Helpers--production workers rising in Minnesota?
QCEW does not publish pay for Helpers--production workers in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +4.5% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.
How complete is this Minnesota industry view?
The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.
Does this page show current Helpers--production workers openings?
No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.
Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record
Methodology & Sources
Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.
- Occupation
- Helpers--production workers
- SOC code
- 51-9198
- State
- Minnesota
- QCEW release label
- QCEW 2026 Q1
- Data period
- 2026 Q1
- State industry employment, year over year
- -0.7%State data coverage 100%
- U.S. benchmark, year over year
- -1.0%
- Difference from U.S. benchmark
- +0.2 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
- Establishments, year over year
- +1.1%State data coverage 100%
- Average weekly industry wage, year over year
- +4.5%State data coverage 100%
- Industry mix vintage
- EP-2025-2035
- BLS publication date
- Aug 28, 2026
- Source verification
- Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
- Canonical record URL
- https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/helpers-production-workers/minnesota#evidence-record
- Derived by
- JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix
MethodologyBLS QCEWHow to citeQCEW state context release, 2026 Q1
Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.