Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

51-6051 Sewers, Hand

Sew, join, reinforce, or finish, usually with needle and thread, a variety of manufactured items. Include weavers and stitchers. Exclude "Fabric Menders, Except Garment" (49-9093).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
18,790 11.1 % $9.57 $19,900 2.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.44 $7.46 $8.65 $10.71 $13.98
Annual Wage (2) $13,390 $15,520 $17,980 $22,270 $29,070

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing 6,240 $9.01 $18,740 1 26
Accessories and other apparel manufacturing 1,260 $7.75 $16,110 2 32
Textile furnishings mills 1,070 $11.00 $22,880 3 10
Other textile product mills 860 $10.34 $21,500 4 13
Apparel knitting mills 710 $9.28 $19,290 5 23

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Misc. durable goods merchant wholesalers (6) $13.18 $27,410 (6) 1
Employment services (6) $13.14 $27,330 (6) 2
General medical and surgical hospitals 40 $12.75 $26,520 24 3
Traveler accommodation 150 $12.72 $26,460 16 4
Home furnishings stores 60 $11.78 $24,510 21 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
New York 3,030 $10.30 $21,420 0.037% 672
Maine 210 $11.21 $23,320 0.036% 484
California 4,960 $9.03 $18,790 0.034% 720
Pennsylvania 1,700 $8.17 $17,000 0.031% 710
South Carolina 510 $9.92 $20,640 0.029% 561

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Michigan (6) $12.85 $26,720 (6) 556
Washington 150 $12.83 $26,680 0.006% 584
Arizona 170 $12.18 $25,340 0.008% 486
Nevada 50 $11.86 $24,680 0.005% 500
Colorado (6) $11.64 $24,220 (6) 571

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA 3,730 $9.15 $19,030 0.093%
New York, NY PMSA 2,690 $10.25 $21,330 0.068%
Jersey City, NJ PMSA 80 $8.97 $18,660 0.033%
Scranton—Wilkes-Barre—Hazleton, PA MSA 80 $9.13 $18,980 0.029%
New Orleans, LA MSA 170 $6.87 $14,290 0.028%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Detroit, MI PMSA (6) $15.21 $31,640 (6)
Louisville, KY-IN MSA (6) $15.03 $31,270 (6)
Columbus, OH MSA 80 $13.94 $28,990 0.009%
Utica-Rome, NY MSA 30 $13.19 $27,440 0.024%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 90 $12.58 $26,160 0.007%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004