Sewing machine operators

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Total Workforce

144k

Average Age

47.1

Average Salary

$27,024

Average Male Salary

$30,975

Average Female Salary

$25,549

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Sewing machine operators are most often employed by the Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Sewing machine operators was $27,024 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Sewing machine operators by wage are Taxi drivers, Janitors & building cleaners, and Barbers.

Sewing machine operators are part of the Production Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of production & operating workers, Electrical, electronics, & electromechanical assemblers, Engine & other machine assemblers, Structural metal fabricators & fitters, Other assemblers and fabricators, and 55 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Sewing machine operators are LA City (Southeast/East Vernon) PUMA, CA, LA City (East Central/Silver Lake, Echo Park & Westlake) PUMA, CA, and LA City (Central/Univ. of Southern California & Exposition Park) PUMA, CA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Sewing machine operators are LA City (Southeast/East Vernon) PUMA, CA, Carr 2-Carr 100 PUMA, PR, and LA City (Central/Univ. of Southern California & Exposition Park) PUMA, CA.

Photo by jlh_lunasea

Production Occupations Production Occupations Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Sewing machine operators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Sewing machine operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Sewing machine operators, by average wage, is Drycleaning & laundry services. Sewing machine operators are paid most in Rowan County PUMA, NC but are relatively concentrated in LA City (Southeast/East Vernon) PUMA, CA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$27,024

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,891

In 2018, Sewing machine operators earned an average of $27,024, $26,864 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Barbers make somewhat more than Sewing machine operators while Taxi drivers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Sewing machine operators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.33

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Sewing machine operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.33, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Sewing machine operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Sewing machine operators.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Sewing machine operators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Sewing machine operators.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Sewing machine operators, by number of employees, are Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing, Textile product mills, except carpets & rugs , and Fabric mills, except knitting mills.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Sewing machine operators, by average wage, are Apparel, piece goods, & notions merchant wholesalers, Leather tanning & finishing, & other allied products manufacturing , Drycleaning & laundry services, Fabric mills, except knitting mills, Textile product mills, except carpets & rugs , and Sporting & athletic goods, & doll, toy & game manufacturing .

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Industries by Share

144k

2018 Workforce

± 9,322

-12.8%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.1%

The number of people employed as Sewing machine operators has been declining at a rate of -12.8%, from 165,593 people in 2017 to 144,317 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Sewing machine operators employed by various industries. Cut and sew, and apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing employs the largest share of Sewing machine operators at 36.1%, followed by Textile product mills, except carpets & rugs with 14.3% and Fabric mills, except knitting mills with 8.03%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Sewing machine operators in the US. The average age of male Sewing machine operators in the workforce is 42.7 and of female Sewing machine operators is 48.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Sewing machine operators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

39.2k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,861

105k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 7,956

72.8% of Sewing machine operators are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Sewing machine operators.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Sewing machine operators

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Other (Hispanic)

39.1% of Sewing machine operators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 21.7% of Sewing machine operators, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Sewing machine operators.

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Age by Gender

42.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.52

48.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.02

The median age of Sewing machine operators is 47.1, and Male employees are generally 6.05 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Sewing machine operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Sewing machine operators is Business but a relatively high number of Sewing machine operators hold a major in Human Sciences.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Sewing machine operators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sewing machine operators need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, and Operation and Control. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Sewing machine operators need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis, and Equipment Maintenance.