Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic job market in New York

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 Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New York.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 100% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn in New York

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$49,890New York
Middle 50% of published wages
$42,890 – $61,350
U.S. median annual wage
$47,180
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 Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.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 New York

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, compared with the New York median of $49,890.

New York median$49,890
Rochester, NY$55,700+11.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$43,070 – $55,700Published employment550
Elmira, NY$51,170+2.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$40,000 – $60,090Published employment250
Utica-Rome, NY$51,080+2.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$49,170 – $67,240Published employment190
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY$49,680−0.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,080 – $61,570Published employment110
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY$48,880−2.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$40,300 – $60,740Published employment370
Binghamton, NY$48,700−2.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$44,610 – $51,850Published employment80
View 4 more published metro areas
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY$47,000−5.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$41,850 – $59,750Published employment80
Syracuse, NY$46,970−5.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,970 – $51,830Published employment430
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$45,350−9.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$37,370 – $51,330Published employment2,720
Glens Falls, NY$44,830−10.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$39,210 – $48,490Published employment110

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the New York 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 New York’s weighted industry mix.

-1.9%Industry employmentNew York industry employmentU.S. -1.1%vs. -1.1% U.S.
-0.9%Establishments in weighted industriesNew York establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +1.5%vs. +1.5% U.S.
+4.0%Avg. weekly industry wageNew York avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +5.5% · not occupation payvs. +5.5% U.S. · not occupation pay
-0.8 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 17,443 represented establishments, 83.22% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New York

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

The highest-paying metro has a smaller employment market

Among 10 comparable metro estimates associated with New York in OEWS May 2025, the pay leader and employment-size leader differ. Rochester, NY has the highest median annual pay at $55,700, with estimated employment of 550. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ has the largest employment estimate at 2,720, with median pay of $45,350. The pay leader's median is 22.8% higher; estimated employment describes existing jobs, not available vacancies.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Some metro estimates cross state lines. Higher nominal pay does not establish better living standards or better chances of finding a job.

This occupation is less concentrated in the state

OEWS May 2025 places New York's share of employment in multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic at 0.47 times the corresponding national share. The published location quotient expresses that comparison. The state estimate is 3,660 jobs, 2.9% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 0.38 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. Employment concentration does not establish future growth; it describes employment share, not current hiring.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

OEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.

Industry groups are pulling in opposite directions

The overall industry figure masks differing movements among the leading industry groups associated with this occupation in New York. The groups examined cover 99.3% of its national industry mix. In January to March 2026, year-over-year employment changed +0.5% in Private education and health services and -1.9% in Manufacturing.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Published median pay is above the U.S. median

Median annual pay in New York stands 5.7% above the U.S. estimate for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. The underlying OEWS May 2025 figures are $49,890 for the state and $47,180 nationally. This is a nominal wage comparison; living costs and individual pay differences are outside its scope.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Industry 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

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.

Latest published values
  • New York · 2026 Q1-1.9%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-1.1%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly New York industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterNew YorkCoverage
2024 Q2-0.9%100%
2024 Q3-1.3%100%
2024 Q4-1.2%100%
2025 Q1-1.6%100%
2025 Q2-2.2%100%
2025 Q3-2.2%100%
2025 Q4-2.0%100%
2026 Q1-1.9%100%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows New York’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
-1.1%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic Work

The occupation mix determines which New York industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the New York Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Manufacturing82.6%-1.9%17,443$1,807
Professional and business services11.6%-1.8%131,129$2,868
Trade, transportation, and utilities4.8%-0.9%111,623$1,423
Construction0.2%-2.2%48,801$1,757
Private education and health services0.2%+0.5%71,791$1,321

Which industries are growing?

One weighted industry is growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive New York employment change are listed.

  • Private education and health services+0.5%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current New York context

Current New York Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in New York. They are not Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · New York

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

90.1Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
-9.9%Versus the February 2020 baseline
+0.2%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

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
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 202688.69
Jul 31, 202688.67
Aug 7, 202688.64
Aug 14, 202688.76
Aug 21, 202689.60
Aug 28, 202689.18
Sep 4, 202689.09
Sep 11, 202689.95
Sep 18, 202689.43
Sep 25, 202689.87
Oct 2, 202690.02
Oct 9, 202689.76
Oct 16, 202689.72
Oct 23, 202690.08

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.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide layoff-notice filings

New York statewide

18 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: These are statewide totals from notices dated in this period in New York’s official tracking system. Reported positions are the counts published in those notices, not a count of people confirmed to have lost their jobs. No employer is identified.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. New York’s state tracking system also records smaller Rapid Response events that fall below federal WARN thresholds, so it is not a list of federal WARN filings only.

New York State Department of Labor About WARN data

Source last checked

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New York FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New York?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the New York industries weighted to Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic changed -1.9% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -1.1% nationwide.

Are wages for Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic rising in New York?

QCEW does not publish pay for Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +4.0% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this New York 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 Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 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
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
SOC code
51-4081
State
New York
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
-1.9%State data coverage 100%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
-1.1%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
-0.8 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
-0.9%State data coverage 100%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+4.0%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/multiple-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic/new-york#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

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.

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