# Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

US SOC code 51-9041. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/51-9041

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **58,770** US extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders, with median pay of **$45,760** a year. By the method BLS used before May 2021, the highest count from 2003 to 2020 was **88,600**, in May 2007. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://secure-sha.org/bottle/igco1920.htm) of **45,000** from 1920, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Statistical Process Control and touchscreen HMI operator interfaces, 1990 to 2015. SPC and HMI adoption did not eliminate forming-machine operators but raised the floor on required capability.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 1.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-9041&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **0.93** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf) (Official statistic)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.93. BLS counted **69,740** of these jobs in May 2013 and **58,770** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here. Figures: Official statistic.

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.

## Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1904
- Latest US employment: 58,770 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $45,760 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +1.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [14]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1920 | 45,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Illinois Glass Co. 1920 Catalog [1] |
| 1950 | 95,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IFT Food Technology Magazine [2] |
| 1980 | 120,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [3] |
| 2000 | 75,000 (estimate) | $27,736 | Est., Derived estimate anchored to FRED / BLS… (employment) [4]; BLS CPS 2000 (pay) [6] |
| 2003 | 73,990 | $27,140 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 73,970 | $27,460 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 80,420 | $27,790 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 81,000 | $27,710 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 88,600 | $28,000 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 85,130 | $28,960 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 72,770 | $29,860 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 65,100 | $31,210 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 66,330 | $31,190 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 68,080 | $31,310 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 69,740 | $31,760 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 67,490 | $32,100 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 71,430 | $32,160 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 71,260 | $32,510 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 76,120 | $33,680 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 72,870 | $35,120 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 71,850 | $35,480 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 63,730 | $36,560 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 56,570 | $37,660 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 58,740 | $39,480 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 57,080 | $42,670 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 57,310 | $45,130 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 58,770 | $45,760 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (68)

### Employment series

1. [Illinois Glass Co. 1920 Catalog — SHA.org (first catalog to feature essentially all machine-made bottles, documenting full adoption of Owens Automatic Bottle Machines)](https://secure-sha.org/bottle/igco1920.htm), Society for Historical Archaeology / Illinois Glass Co.
2. [IFT Food Technology Magazine — "Extrusion and Applications in the Food Industry" (2017), history section covering 1930s-1950s food extrusion development](https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2017/july/columns/processing-extrusion-and-applications-in-food-industry), Institute of Food Technologists
3. [BLS — "Forty Years of Falling Manufacturing Employment" (Beyond the Numbers, 2016) — documents manufacturing operative employment trends from 1979 through 2019](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [Derived estimate anchored to FRED / BLS CPS series LEU0254519300A (48,000 full-time wage and salary workers, 2000 annual average) plus an estimated part-time/variable-hours component; magnitude consistent with the BLS OES 2000 estimate of 76,370 for SOC 51-9041](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0254519300A), Derived from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data
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)

### Wage series

6. [BLS Current Population Survey, 2000 Annual Averages — median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, extruding/forming/pressing/compacting machine operators ($533/week, annualized)](https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_aa2000.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. 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

8. [National Inventors Hall of Fame — "NIHF Inductee Michael Owens Invented the Glass Blowing Machine" (automatic bottle machine, 1903-1904, 240 bottles/min, labor cost reduced up to 80%)](https://www.invent.org/inductees/michael-j-owens), National Inventors Hall of Fame
9. [ASME Landmark — "Owens AR Bottle Machine" (engineering history, Toledo OH, 1904 commercial deployment)](https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/86-owens-ar-bottle-machine), American Society of Mechanical Engineers
10. [Lakeland Plastics — "The History and Evolution of Plastic Extrusion" (1935 Troester first thermoplastic extrusion; 1930s Colombo twin-screw; WWII military applications; post-war polyethylene and PVC expansion)](https://lakelandplastics.com/history-of-plastic-extrusion/), Lakeland Plastics
11. [Cowell Extrusion — "The Evolution of Extruders from Single Screw to Meshing Twin Screw" (1820 Hancock rubber; 1930s Troester PVC film; 1960s Battenfeld conical twin-screw; 1970s Werner and Pfleiderer triple screw)](https://www.cowellextrusion.com/the-evolution-of-extruders-from-single-screw-to-meshing-twin-screw/), Cowell Extrusion
12. [Wikipedia — Programmable logic controller (PLC history: Modicon 084, 1968, Richard Morley, first industrial deployment at General Motors)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_controller), Wikipedia
13. [O\*NET OnLine — 51-9041.00 task list (includes "Set up, operate, or tend machines to shape and form products"; monitors controls, inspects output, maintains logs) — reflects the HMI/SPC skill profile of the contemporary operator](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-9041.00), O\*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)

### Forecasts and exposure studies

14. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 51-9041 Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders (2025: 58.3 thousand; 2035: 59.2 thousand; +1.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-9041&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
15. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 51-9041 Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders: probability 0.93, rank 584 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

### Historical notes

16. [ASME Landmark — "Owens AR Bottle Machine" (commercial deployment 1904, Toledo OH)](https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/86-owens-ar-bottle-machine), American Society of Mechanical Engineers
17. [Wikipedia — O-I Glass (company history: 1919 rename, 1929 Owens-Illinois merger)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-I_Glass), Wikipedia
18. [Lakeland Plastics — "The History and Evolution of Plastic Extrusion" (1935: Troester and Gershoff, first thermoplastic extrusion, Hamburg)](https://lakelandplastics.com/history-of-plastic-extrusion/), Lakeland Plastics
19. [United Steelworkers — "Tire Bargaining History and Achievements" (URW founded 1935, Akron; 1940 vacation days; 1946 double time; 1953 medical benefits)](https://usw.org/industries/rubber-and-tires/tire-bargaining-history-and-achievements/), United Steelworkers
20. [Wikipedia — Programmable logic controller (Modicon 084, 1968; Richard Morley; first industrial deployment, General Motors)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_controller), Wikipedia
21. [IFT Food Technology Magazine — "Extrusion and Applications in the Food Industry" (2017; global extruded snack food market at $50 billion by 2016)](https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2017/july/columns/processing-extrusion-and-applications-in-food-industry), Institute of Food Technologists

### Predecessors & successors

22. [NIHF — "Michael Owens Invented the Glass Blowing Machine" (skilled glassblowers displaced, labor costs cut up to 80%)](https://www.invent.org/inductees/michael-j-owens), National Inventors Hall of Fame

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

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