Occupation salary profile

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

SOC 51-1011 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.

National median · BLS
$74,450
▲ +4.58% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$70,000
▲ +20.69% YoY · 11 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$76,600
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
673,430
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 11 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$47,130$58,000
25th$58,630$58,000
Median (50th)$74,450$70,000
75th$91,680$83,786
90th — top pay$108,750$85,280
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $70,000 for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers — 6% below the BLS national median of $74,450.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

BLS projects employment of first-line supervisors of production and operating workers to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 61,000 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
679,900 → 692,300
+12,400 jobs
Projected change
+1.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
61,000
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus less than 5 years experience
Self-employed
0.7% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 3)
Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a high school diploma →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $70,000
Change vs prior year +20.69%
After inflation (CPI-U) +17.03%
Skills & tools

Skills needed for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening3.9
  • Management of Personnel Resources3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Time Management3.9
  • Coordination3.8
  • Critical Thinking3.8
  • Monitoring3.8
  • Social Perceptiveness3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.6
  • Reading Comprehension3.5
Top knowledge areas
  • Production and Processing4.3
  • Administration and Management4.1
  • Personnel and Human Resources3.6
  • English Language3.5
  • Computers and Electronics3.2
  • Mathematics3.2
  • Administrative3.2
  • Education and Training3.1
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointSAP softwareApple SafariAutodesk AutoCADExtensible markup language XMLKronos Workforce TimekeeperMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft WordMozilla FirefoxApple iWork PagesAptean Made2ManageBowen & Groves M1 ERPCapterra Enterprise Resource Planning

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What first-line supervisors of production and operating workers do

  • 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 evaluate current production estimates and outputs.
  • Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.
  • Confer with other supervisors to coordinate operations and activities within or between departments.
  • Interpret specifications, blueprints, job orders, and company policies and procedures for workers.
  • Observe work and monitor gauges, dials, and other indicators to ensure that operators conform to production or processing standards.
Also called
Assembly SupervisorManufacturing SupervisorProduction ManagerProduction SupervisorLine SupervisorMolding SupervisorPlant SupervisorQuality Assurance Supervisor (QA Supervisor)
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Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.