Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
Also called: Boot Maker, Inseamer, Side Laster, StitcherOperate or tend a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 18 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 6.9% 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, 3.4% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Shoe and leather workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.4 hires for every 10 job openings in nondurable goods manufacturing, which employs about 100% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $47,730 | $47,110 to $59,110 | 30 |
| Maine | $39,850 | $36,250 to $47,700 | 530 |
| Minnesota | $37,600 | $31,810 to $37,600 | 370 |
| New York | $48,420 | $41,740 to $50,590 | 40 |
| Texas | $26,560 | $23,070 to $26,560 | 500 |
| Wisconsin | $37,970 | $32,030 to $45,820 | 110 |
Nationally: $35,650. 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 18 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Perform routine equipment maintenance such as cleaning and lubricating machines or replacing broken needles. | Not published |
| Not much | Test machinery to ensure proper functioning before beginning production. | Not published |
| Not rated | Inspect finished products to ensure that shoes have been completed according to specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Align parts to be stitched, following seams, edges, or markings, before positioning them under needles. | Not published |
| Not much | Switch on machines, lower pressure feet or rollers to secure parts, and start machine stitching, using hand, foot, or knee controls. | Not published |
| Not much | Study work orders or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications, and the types of materials to be used. | Not published |
See all 19 tasks
| Not much | Draw thread through machine guide slots, needles, and presser feet in preparation for stitching, or load rolls of wire through machine axles. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut excess thread or material from shoe parts, using scissors or knives. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove and examine shoes, shoe parts, and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate or tend machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn knobs to adjust stitch length and thread tension. | Not published |
| AI + software | Select and place spools of thread or pre-wound bobbins into shuttles, or onto spindles or loupers of stitching machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect shoe parts from conveyer belts or racks and place them in machinery such as ovens or on molds for dressing, returning them to conveyers or racks to send them to the next work station. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn setscrews on needle bars, and position required numbers of needles in stitching machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Position dies on material in a manner that will obtain the maximum number of parts from each portion of material. | Not published |
| Not much | Fill shuttle spools with thread from a machine's bobbin winder by pressing a foot treadle. | Not published |
| Not much | Staple sides of shoes, pressing a foot treadle to position and hold each shoe under the feeder of the machine. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn screws to regulate size of staples. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Hammer loose staples for proper attachment. | 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 19 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 19 tasks fall under 15 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.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sew garments or materials | |||
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment | |||
| Assemble products or work aids | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Select materials or equipment for operations or projects | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products |
Show all 15 activities
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards | |||
| Repair tools or equipment | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| 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 shoe machine operators and tenders 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 12,916 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
- 3 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
- 4 Financial Managers Very high +9.7% 3%
- 5 Lawyers Very high +4.7% 2%
Where people moved in from
of 19,576 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 3%
- 3 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 3%
- 4 Financial Managers Very high +9.7% 3%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 2%
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
- 38% high school
- 15% some college
- 46% not published
O*NET marks 46% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 19 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 33% less than high school
- 32% high school
- 18% some college
- 3% associate's
- 11% bachelor's
- 3% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Shoe and leather workers” · 125 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
1 program: Shoe, Boot and Leather Repair.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
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
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
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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