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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
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.