# Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders

US SOC code 51-9011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/51-9011

Also called: Chemical operator, Process operator, Chemical plant operator, Reactor operator, Batch operator.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **139,630** US chemical equipment operators and tenders, with median pay of **$58,040** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/occupations/occupations-part-2.pdf) of **65,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for chemical equipment operators and tenders: Advanced Process Control and historian databases, 1995 to 2015. APC adoption is estimated to have reduced operating costs per unit in the facilities that deployed it, largely through yield improvement rather than headcount reduction.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3.6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-9011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **6.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

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. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1880
- Latest US employment: 139,630 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $58,040 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +3.6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [23]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 94110)
  - Employment, 2020: 7,390. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 94110 Chemical plant machine operators, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$59,200. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [13]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 94110 Chemical plant machine operators, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 65,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1900 [1] |
| 1940 | 120,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1940 [2] |
| 1945 | 200,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark [3] |
| 1956 | n/a | $4,400 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [9] |
| 1970 | 180,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS Monthly Labor Review (2006) [4] |
| 2003 | 59,720 | $38,740 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 48,450 | $38,870 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 50,610 | $39,030 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 50,570 | $40,290 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 52,620 | $44,050 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 52,890 | $45,260 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 48,360 | $45,140 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 46,250 | $45,150 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 49,020 | $45,550 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 56,030 | $47,100 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 60,450 | $47,730 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 64,710 | $48,090 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 67,650 | $47,220 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 73,840 | $47,780 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 77,870 | $47,800 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 82,880 | $48,770 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 87,120 | $49,130 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 93,060 | $50,510 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 106,170 | $48,090 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 115,370 | $49,330 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 120,260 | $51,720 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 127,410 | $57,090 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 139,630 | $58,040 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (85)

### Employment series

1. [US Census Bureau — 1900 Occupations Census, Chapter 2: Comparison of Occupations (chemical and allied products workers)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/occupations/occupations-part-2.pdf), US Census Bureau
2. [IPUMS USA — 1940 Occupation and Industry Codes: Operatives, chemical and allied products (OCC1940 classification)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1940.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. [ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark — US Synthetic Rubber Program 1939-1945 (51 government plants, ~49 operating companies)](https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/syntheticrubber.html), American Chemical Society
4. [BLS Monthly Labor Review (2006) — "Occupational changes during the 20th century" (chemical manufacturing production worker series)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/article/occupational-changes-during-the-20th-century.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
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)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959" (derived from BLS industry wage survey references for the chemical sector)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries
10. 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)
11. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

14. [Science History Institute — "The First Century of Chemical Engineering" (early industrial chemical plant operations)](https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-first-century-of-chemical-engineering/), Science History Institute
15. [Wikipedia — Distributed control system (history of pre-DCS panel-board control rooms)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_control_system), Wikipedia
16. [Automation Community — Distributed Control Systems History and Applications](https://automationcommunity.com/distributed-control-systems-history-and-applications/), Automation Community
17. [OSHA — Process Safety Management Background: 29 CFR 1910.119 history (published February 24, 1992)](https://www.osha.gov/process-safety-management/background), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
18. [Cogent Skills — "The Bhopal tragedy and its impact on process safety" (AIChE CCPS founded 1985)](https://cogentskills.com/news/the-bhopal-tragedy-and-its-impact-on-process-safety/), Cogent Skills
19. [AspenTech — AVA for DMC3 (Aspen Virtual Advisor for advanced process control, product history)](https://www.aspentech.com/en/products/msc/aspen-virtual-advisor-ava-for-dmc3), AspenTech
20. [Honeywell — Honeywell Forge Production Intelligence AI assistant for operators (February 2025)](https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/press/2025/02/honeywell-unveils-innovative-ai-assistant), Honeywell
21. [Emerson — Expanded AI Portfolio for autonomous operations in chemical manufacturing (May 2025)](https://www.emerson.com/en/corporate/news/2025/05-emerson-expanded-ai-portfolio-paves-the-way-for-more-optimized-autonomous-operations), Emerson
22. [Seeq — Leader in 2025 Verdantix Green Quadrant for Industrial AI Analytics](https://www.seeq.com/resources/press-releases/seeq-recognized-as-a-leader-in-2025-green-quadrant-for-industrial-ai-analytics/), Seeq

### Forecasts and exposure studies

23. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 51-9011 Chemical equipment operators and tenders (2025: 140.8 thousand; 2035: 145.8 thousand; +3.6%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-9011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 51-9011.00, human-rated β 0.065)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

25. [American Chemical Society — "Industrial Advances" landmark history](https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/industrial.html), American Chemical Society
26. [Science History Institute — "The First Century of Chemical Engineering" (AIChE founding 1908, ~500 chemical engineers in 1908)](https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-first-century-of-chemical-engineering/), Science History Institute
27. [ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark — US Synthetic Rubber Program 1939-1945](https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/syntheticrubber.html), American Chemical Society
28. [Wikipedia — Distributed control system (1975 TDC 2000 introduction)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_control_system), Wikipedia
29. [Wikipedia — Bhopal disaster (December 1984)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster), Wikipedia
30. [OSHA — Process Safety Management Background (29 CFR 1910.119, published February 24, 1992)](https://www.osha.gov/process-safety-management/background), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
31. [Hydrocarbon Engineering — "North America's chemical companies face workforce shortage" (ACC / Accenture 2016 report)](https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/08062016/north-american-chemical-companies-face-workforce-shortage-report-from-acc-accenture-3486/), Hydrocarbon Engineering / ACC / Accenture

### Predecessors & successors

32. [Science History Institute — "The First Century of Chemical Engineering" (early chemical plant workforce origins)](https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-first-century-of-chemical-engineering/), Science History Institute

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders (51-9011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-9011.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders wages and employment (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Emerson — Expanded AI Portfolio for Autonomous Operations (May 2025)](https://www.emerson.com/en/corporate/news/2025/05-emerson-expanded-ai-portfolio-paves-the-way-for-more-optimized-autonomous-operations), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Honeywell Forge Production Intelligence — AI assistant for operators (Feb 2025)](https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/press/2025/02/honeywell-unveils-innovative-ai-assistant), accessed 2026-06-05
- [IBM Institute for Business Value — Chemicals in the AI Era (2025)](https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/chemicals-in-ai-era), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Seeq — Leader in 2025 Verdantix Green Quadrant for Industrial AI Analytics](https://www.seeq.com/resources/press-releases/seeq-recognized-as-a-leader-in-2025-green-quadrant-for-industrial-ai-analytics/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [AspenTech AVA for DMC3 — AI-powered adaptive process control advisor](https://www.aspentech.com/en/products/msc/aspen-virtual-advisor-ava-for-dmc3), accessed 2026-06-05
- [iFactory — AI anomaly detection: 52% reduction in process upsets, 46% fewer unplanned failures (2025)](https://ifactoryapp.com/industries/chemical-plant/chemical-plant-anomaly-detection-ai), accessed 2026-06-05

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