Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2005

51-6031 Sewing Machine Operators

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

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)
233,130 1.6 % $9.55 $19,860 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.67 $7.53 $8.82 $10.90 $13.50
Annual Wage (2) $13,870 $15,660 $18,340 $22,680 $28,080

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing 96,560 $8.85 $18,410
Other textile product mills 21,060 $9.78 $20,340
Textile furnishings mills 19,220 $9.87 $20,530
Household and institutional furniture mfg. 15,920 $11.22 $23,350
Accessories and other apparel manufacturing 7,590 $9.23 $19,200

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Federal government (OES designation) 160 $15.35 $31,930
Other motor vehicle dealers (7) $13.91 $28,930
Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing 530 $12.36 $25,700
State government (OES designation) 70 $12.14 $25,260
Colleges and universities 30 $12.13 $25,220

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Mississippi 8,480 $9.41 $19,560 0.765%
Alabama 9,270 $8.83 $18,370 0.495%
North Carolina 15,460 $10.30 $21,430 0.406%
Kentucky 7,000 $9.13 $19,000 0.399%
California 51,080 $8.98 $18,690 0.347%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
New Hampshire 550 $11.88 $24,710 0.088%
Michigan 2,180 $11.69 $24,310 0.050%
Alaska 110 $11.38 $23,670 0.037%
Washington 2,150 $11.14 $23,160 0.081%
Rhode Island (7) $11.05 $22,980 (7)

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

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

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 3,110 $12.93 $26,900 1.915%
Clarksville, TN-KY 1,190 $9.53 $19,810 1.527%
Dalton, GA 1,090 $10.32 $21,460 1.470%
Morristown, TN 620 $9.80 $20,390 1.284%
Cleveland, TN 490 $9.69 $20,150 1.254%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Atlantic City, NJ (7) $16.25 $33,800 (7)
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 250 $15.57 $32,380 0.059%
Battle Creek, MI (7) $15.46 $32,160 (7)
Danbury, CT (7) $14.03 $29,180 (7)
Salinas, CA 100 $13.77 $28,630 0.064%

About May 2005 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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.

(7) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2005 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2005 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 14, 2008