Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials
SOC Code: 51-6021
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials carries a 27% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $33,880 and -13.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 28,400 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 27% AI exposure, Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials sits 10 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 22% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
26/100
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $33,880
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -13.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B+ 27% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry on a declining BLS line
Typical entry is No credential (109/832) while growth is Declining (111/832). This is the crowded high-risk corner of the map - automation and headcount pressure compound without a degree moat.
Where Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
27% Among the lowest lower than 78% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-6021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
- 2. Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
- 3. Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
- 4. Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
- 5. Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
- 6. Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
- 7. Identify and treat spots on garments.
- 8. Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
- 9. Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
- 10. Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
Key Skills Required
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Speaking
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Sales and Marketing
- Mathematics
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Transportation
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials?
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials has an AI exposure score of 27%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials is projected to decline by 13.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 28,400 workers.
What skills are needed for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials?
Key skills for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials include Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Operations Monitoring, and others. Typical entry-level education is No formal educational credential.
How much do Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials earn?
The median annual wage for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials is $33,880, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials?
The typical entry-level education for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials is No formal educational credential. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials?
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (27% here).
- Civil engineers · AI exposure 27%
- Clinical and counseling psychologists · AI exposure 27%
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 27%
- Concierges · AI exposure 27%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-13.5% here).
- Cooks, fast food · growth -13.5%
- Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles · growth -13.6%
- Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic · growth -13.6%
- Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic · growth -13.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).