# Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers

US SOC code 51-3022. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/51-3022

Also called: Meat cutter, Meat trimmer, Fish cutter, Fish processor, Poultry trimmer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **145,700** US meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, with median pay of **$38,300** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/05/12/the-industry-that-stayed-how-meatpacking-remained-domestic/) of **8,366** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers: HACCP food-safety systems, 1995 to 2015.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5.7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-3022&ioType=o).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1825
- Latest US employment: 145,700 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $38,300 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +5.7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [16]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1870 | 8,366 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Derived estimate (secondary literature) [1] |
| 1920 | 68,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Derived estimate (secondary literature) [1] |
| 1960 | 140,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [2] |
| 1980 | n/a | $22,000 (estimate) | Est., Labor Notes [4] |
| 2003 | 150,440 | $18,070 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 137,370 | $18,900 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 136,690 | $19,830 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 139,830 | $20,370 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 150,190 | $21,050 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 166,150 | $21,810 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 168,700 | $22,130 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 163,080 | $22,330 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 164,650 | $22,720 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 158,480 | $22,830 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 160,920 | $23,120 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 150,310 | $23,350 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 155,390 | $23,870 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 149,800 | $24,490 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 153,280 | $25,250 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 156,440 | $26,950 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 153,990 | $28,100 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 147,760 | $30,190 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 132,100 | $29,730 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 133,460 | $35,070 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 138,300 | $36,300 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 141,090 | $37,700 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 145,700 | $38,300 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (79)

### Employment series

1. [US meatpacking/slaughtering industry workforce, 1870 (industry-wide proxy for the cutter/trimmer role, not separately enumerated) — via Skaggs, Prime Cut (Texas A&M Press, 1986), pp. 108-09](https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/05/12/the-industry-that-stayed-how-meatpacking-remained-domestic/), Derived estimate (secondary literature)
2. [Wikipedia — Iowa Beef Processors (IBP history, deskilling strategy, boxed beef, workforce transformation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Beef_Processors), Wikipedia
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [Labor Notes — Immigrant Workers Buck Long Slide in Meatpacking (1980 meatpacking wage baseline, journalistic estimate)](https://labornotes.org/node/522), Labor Notes
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

6. [Stacker / Newsweek — History of America's meat-processing industry (Cincinnati disassembly line origins, 1818-1850)](https://stacker.com/stories/business-economy/history-americas-meat-processing-industry), Stacker
7. [Encyclopedia.com — Meatpacking (industry origins, pork disassembly line, Cincinnati Porkopolis)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/meatpacking), Encyclopedia.com
8. [MEAT+POULTRY — Technological evolution (band saws 1920s, mechanical mixers 1880s, steam power 1870s)](https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/25884-technological-evolution), MEAT+POULTRY / Sosland Publishing
9. [WTTW Chicago Stories — The Union Stockyards: A Story of American Capitalism](https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/union-stockyards/the-union-stockyards-a-story-of-american-capitalism), WTTW Chicago
10. [Supermarket Perimeter — Meat and poultry: a history of technology breakthroughs (refrigeration and mechanization)](https://www.supermarketperimeter.com/articles/7510-technological-evolution), Supermarket Perimeter
11. [Wikipedia — Iowa Beef Processors (IBP founding 1960, boxed beef 1967, deskilling strategy)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Beef_Processors), Wikipedia
12. [Iowa Radical History — The Impact of Iowa Beef Packers, Inc. On Workers](https://iowaradicalhistory.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/the-impact-of-iowa-beef-packers-inc-on-workers/), Iowa Radical History
13. [O\*NET OnLine — 51-3022.00: HACCP compliance, digital weighing, inventory management software listed as core activities](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-3022.00), O\*NET / BLS
14. [Frontiers in Robotics and AI 2025 — Review of robotic and automated systems in meat processing (85-92% yield precision, Meyn 7,000 birds/hr)](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1578318/full), Frontiers in Robotics and AI
15. [National Provisioner 2026 — Chef Robotics expands into meatpacking with tray assembly automation](https://www.provisioneronline.com/articles/120455-chef-robotics-expands-into-meatpacking-with-tray-assembly-automation), National Provisioner

### Forecasts and exposure studies

16. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 51-3022 Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers (2025: 149.8 thousand; 2035: 158.3 thousand; +5.7%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-3022&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

17. [Stacker — History of America's meat-processing industry (Cincinnati Porkopolis, 85,000 hogs by 1833)](https://stacker.com/stories/business-economy/history-americas-meat-processing-industry), Stacker
18. [WTTW Chicago Stories — The Union Stockyards: A Story of American Capitalism](https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/union-stockyards/the-union-stockyards-a-story-of-american-capitalism), WTTW Chicago
19. [HISTORY — How Upton Sinclair's The Jungle Led to US Food Safety Reforms (1906)](https://www.history.com/articles/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms), HISTORY
20. [Wikipedia — Iowa Beef Processors (IBP boxed beef introduction 1967)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Beef_Processors), Wikipedia
21. [Wikipedia — 1985-1986 Hormel strike (P-9 local, Austin MN, UFCW national response)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985%E2%80%931986_Hormel_strike), Wikipedia
22. [O\*NET OnLine — 51-3022.00: HACCP, sanitation, and food safety listed as core work activities](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-3022.00), O\*NET / BLS
23. [ProPublica — The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19 (40,000 cases, 200+ deaths, plant closures)](https://www.propublica.org/article/documents-covid-meatpacking-tyson-smithfield-trump), ProPublica
24. [Investigate Midwest 2024 — Meatpacking plant workers at higher risk for severe finger injuries (900+ of 1,800 severe injuries hit fingers, 2015-2023)](https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/11/27/meatpacking-plant-workers-at-higher-risk-for-severe-finger-injuries-compared-to-other-industries/), Investigate Midwest

### Predecessors & successors

25. [Encyclopedia.com — Meatpacking (immigrant and farm labor origins of the industrial meatpacking workforce)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/meatpacking), Encyclopedia.com
26. [Wikipedia — Iowa Beef Processors (IBP deskilling displaced skilled butchers from plant cutting roles)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Beef_Processors), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET OnLine — Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers (51-3022.00): tasks, wages, employment](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-3022.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2025 — Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers (51-3022): employment 146,800, median $37,700/yr](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes513022.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Frontiers in Robotics and AI 2025 — Review of robotic and automated systems in meat processing](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1578318/full), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs — How Will AI Affect the Global Workforce (food/physical sectors have lower GenAI exposure)](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/how-will-ai-affect-the-global-workforce), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Investigate Midwest 2024 — Meatpacking workers at higher risk for severe finger injuries than other industries](https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/11/27/meatpacking-plant-workers-at-higher-risk-for-severe-finger-injuries-compared-to-other-industries/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [The Shelby Report 2026 — Chef Robotics expands AI-powered automation into meatpacking (tray assembly for raw proteins)](https://theshelbyreport.com/2026/04/10/chef-robotics-expands-ai-powered-automation-into-meatpacking/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [National Provisioner 2026 — Chef Robotics expands into meatpacking with tray assembly automation](https://www.provisioneronline.com/articles/120455-chef-robotics-expands-into-meatpacking-with-tray-assembly-automation), accessed 2026-06-05
- [ASME — Harnessing AI and robotics to debone chickens (USDA-funded $5M research, Georgia Tech, Univ. of Arkansas)](https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/harnessing-ai-robotics-to-debone-chickens), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.