Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-6031 Sewing Machine Operators

Occupational Description:
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2020

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Southeast Minnesota	160	46	$17.16/hr	$12.43/hr	$14.42/hr	$17.09/hr	$19.09/hr	$22.89/hr

Leading Industries for Sewing Machine Operators

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	1,380	$15.28/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	360	$16.20/hr
Financial Activities	N/A	N/A
Professional and Business Services	70	$14.44/hr
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A
Leisure and Hospitality	20	$14.24/hr
Other Services	70	$17.00/hr
Public Administration	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Sewing Machine Operators

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2016-2026
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	$17.82/hr	N/A
Northeast Balance of State	20	$14.44/hr	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	50	$16.78/hr	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	100	$14.92/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	100	$13.75/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	110	$17.86/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	110	$13.89/hr	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	110	$16.69/hr	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	120	$15.02/hr	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	140	$14.94/hr	-16.4%
Duluth MN-WI MSA	150	$14.28/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	150	$14.58/hr	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	160	$14.74/hr	4.1%
Southeast Minnesota	160	$17.09/hr	15.9%
Central Minnesota	230	$14.28/hr	-0.9%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	1,100	$15.70/hr	-7.1%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	1,150	$15.58/hr	N/A
Minnesota	1,900	$15.54/hr	-2.0%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2016-2026
Helpers--Production Workers	7,420	$14.62/hr	14.8%
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	100	$15.43/hr	-2.7%
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	40	$17.63/hr	-4.1%
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators	2,140	$23.51/hr	-11.2%
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	670	$18.34/hr	4.4%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	2,010	$18.68/hr	-9.1%
Machine Feeders and Offbearers	820	$18.20/hr	-2.8%
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	10,020	$22.42/hr	6.8%
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,730	$20.65/hr	-0.4%
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers	N/A	$17.64/hr	N/A

Task for Sewing Machine Operators

Record quantities of materials processed.
Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
Cut excess material or thread from finished products.
Repair or alter items by adding replacement parts or missing stitches.
Turn knobs, screws, and dials to adjust settings of machines, according to garment styles and equipment performance.
Perform equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles, sanding rough areas of needles, or cleaning and oiling sewing machines.
Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.
Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions.