Sewing Machine Operators
Also called: Sample Maker, Seamstress, Sewer, Sewing Machine OperatorOperate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 26 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 15.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.8% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.4 hires for every 10 job openings in nondurable goods manufacturing, which employs about 57% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.8.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $30,830 | $27,390 to $35,410 | 2,300 |
| Alaska | $43,850 | $36,710 to $56,900 | 40 |
| Arizona | $40,210 | $36,660 to $45,430 | 1,420 |
| Arkansas | $35,630 | $29,340 to $38,640 | 860 |
| California | $37,940 | $36,380 to $44,280 | 13,240 |
| Colorado | $43,840 | $37,920 to $47,720 | 970 |
| Connecticut | $37,780 | $34,830 to $44,030 | 480 |
| Delaware | $37,690 | $34,500 to $44,350 | 60 |
| Florida | $33,270 | $28,290 to $36,750 | 6,790 |
| Georgia | $34,790 | $29,670 to $37,890 | 3,420 |
| Hawaii | $39,230 | $35,120 to $48,180 | 280 |
| Idaho | $37,160 | $34,480 to $42,720 | 410 |
| Illinois | $36,220 | $34,860 to $42,100 | 4,060 |
| Indiana | $38,440 | $33,420 to $45,290 | 3,400 |
| Iowa | $35,870 | $31,740 to $39,660 | 590 |
| Kansas | $35,360 | $30,130 to $38,020 | 650 |
| Kentucky | $29,460 | $24,070 to $36,170 | 2,750 |
| Louisiana | $29,600 | $23,930 to $34,210 | 610 |
| Maine | $43,520 | $38,270 to $47,130 | 700 |
| Maryland | $35,860 | $31,360 to $42,880 | 1,390 |
| Massachusetts | $42,910 | $37,620 to $46,160 | 1,540 |
| Michigan | $37,490 | $30,300 to $43,390 | 3,210 |
| Minnesota | $38,930 | $35,520 to $47,120 | 1,890 |
| Mississippi | $37,600 | $30,460 to $42,700 | 2,270 |
| Missouri | $35,610 | $30,130 to $37,350 | 2,320 |
| Montana | $36,740 | $29,070 to $42,380 | 190 |
| Nebraska | $37,060 | $31,680 to $40,170 | 300 |
| Nevada | $45,750 | $37,080 to $54,870 | 910 |
| New Hampshire | $41,740 | $34,790 to $49,860 | 190 |
| New Jersey | $36,130 | $33,330 to $39,100 | 2,750 |
| New Mexico | $34,840 | $29,970 to $37,030 | 220 |
| New York | $38,480 | $36,790 to $45,730 | 6,130 |
| North Carolina | $35,160 | $28,940 to $40,150 | 8,290 |
| North Dakota | $35,700 | $33,260 to $42,110 | 110 |
| Ohio | $35,760 | $32,210 to $38,790 | 4,100 |
| Oklahoma | $33,340 | $27,590 to $36,990 | 580 |
| Oregon | $39,780 | $36,080 to $47,510 | 1,250 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,640 | $30,850 to $39,640 | 3,390 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,840 | $21,840 to $21,930 | 5,410 |
| Rhode Island | $38,670 | $33,280 to $45,870 | 270 |
| South Carolina | $38,250 | $32,840 to $43,530 | 2,460 |
| South Dakota | $39,000 | $32,210 to $44,980 | 300 |
| Tennessee | $34,220 | $23,500 to $40,310 | 3,300 |
| Texas | $31,000 | $26,200 to $37,400 | 6,950 |
| Utah | $35,550 | $32,470 to $39,410 | 1,020 |
| Vermont | $40,850 | $36,440 to $44,880 | 220 |
| Virginia | $35,790 | $29,730 to $42,240 | 2,010 |
| Washington | $43,360 | $39,130 to $46,470 | 1,600 |
| West Virginia | $29,320 | $25,340 to $35,990 | 180 |
| Wisconsin | $40,370 | $36,620 to $46,960 | 2,370 |
| Wyoming | $36,510 | $31,680 to $38,760 | 110 |
Nationally: $36,670. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 26 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions. | Not published |
| Not much | Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together. | Not published |
| Not much | Select supplies such as fasteners and thread, according to job requirements. | Not published |
| Not much | Fold or stretch edges or lengths of items while sewing to facilitate forming specified sections. | Not published |
| Not much | Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides. | Not published |
See all 26 tasks
| Not much | Perform equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles, sanding rough areas of needles, or cleaning and oiling sewing machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn knobs, screws, and dials to adjust settings of machines, according to garment styles and equipment performance. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut excess material or thread from finished products. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove holding devices and finished items from machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair or alter items by adding replacement parts or missing stitches. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using rulers. | Not published |
| Not much | Match cloth pieces in correct sequences prior to sewing them, and verify that dye lots and patterns match. | Not published |
| Not much | Start and operate or tend machines, such as single or double needle serging and flat-bed felling machines, to automatically join, reinforce, or decorate material or articles. | Not published |
| Not much | Attach tape, trim, appliques, or elastic to specified garments or garment parts, according to item specifications. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record quantities of materials processed. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut materials according to specifications, using blades, scissors, or electric knives. | Not published |
| Not much | Mount attachments, such as needles, cutting blades, or pattern plates, and adjust machine guides according to specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Tape or twist together thread or cord to repair breaks. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect garments, and examine repair tags and markings on garments to locate defects or damage, and mark errors as necessary. | Not published |
| Not much | Attach buttons, hooks, zippers, fasteners, or other accessories to fabric, using feeding hoppers or clamp holders. | Not published |
| Not much | Baste edges of material to align and temporarily secure parts for final assembly. | Not published |
| Not much | Draw markings or pin appliques on fabric to obtain variations in design. | Not published |
| Not much | Position and mark patterns on materials to prepare for sewing. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform specialized or automatic sewing machine functions, such as buttonhole making or tacking. | Not published |
| Not much | Position material or articles in clamps, templates, or hoop frames prior to automatic operation of machines. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 26 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 26 tasks fall under 18 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #38 Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment | |||
| Sew garments or materials | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Create decorative objects or parts of objects | |||
| Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Select materials or equipment for operations or projects | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment |
Show all 18 activities
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Position tools or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Mark materials or objects for identification | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Disassemble equipment | |||
| Repair tools or equipment | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Remove workpieces from production equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for sewing machine operators specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 4,600 moves out
- 1 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 7%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 4%
- 4 Sales Managers High +4.5% 4%
- 5 Bus Drivers, School or Special Client (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
Where people moved in from
of 4,595 moves in
- 1 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 5%
- 2 File Clerks Very high -15.8% 5%
- 3 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 4%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 53% less than high school
- 41% high school
- 1% postsecondary certificate
- 5% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 38 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 34% less than high school
- 36% high school
- 14% some college
- 6% associate's
- 8% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,200 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
<15% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | not published | |
| a certification | not published | |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (FUR FINISHER; Industrial Sewing Machine Operator). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Sewing Machine Operators” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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