Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Human ServicesO*NET 51-6021.00United States
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
- Median annual earnings
- $35,020
- Projected change
- −9%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 27.46K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
84.8% of the workforce
Growing to 25K by 2035
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The work
What pressers, textile, garment, and related materials do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
- Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
- Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
- Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
- Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
- Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
- Identify and treat spots on garments.
- Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
- Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
- Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
- Slide material back and forth over heated, metal, ball-shaped forms to smooth and press portions of garments that cannot be satisfactorily pressed with flat pressers or hand irons.
- Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
- Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
- Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons.
- Position materials such as cloth garments, felt, or straw on tables, dies, or feeding mechanisms of pressing machines, or on ironing boards or work tables.
- Moisten materials to soften and smooth them.
- Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.
- Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
- Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.
- Press ties on small pressing machines.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $27,141
- 25th percentile
- $29,826
- 50th percentile
- $35,020
- 75th percentile
- $37,947
- 90th percentile
- $43,292
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $35,020 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−9%projected to decline
202527,460 jobs
2035 projected24,996 jobs
2,464 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 84.8%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 14.2%
- Associate degree
- 1.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Shirt Pressers45 postings
- 02Garment Sorters11 postings
- 03Pressers7 postings
- 04Dry Cleaners6 postings
- 05Laundry Managers5 postings
- 06Clothing Processors4 postings
- 07Growth Specialists4 postings
- 08Cleaning Professionals2 postings
- 09Coroners2 postings
- 10Directors of Luxury Sales2 postings
- 11Operations Schedulers2 postings
- 12Production Employees2 postings
- 13Professional Gamers2 postings
- 14Cleaning Assistants1 postings
- 15Driver Helpers1 postings
- 16Fabric Specialists1 postings
- 17IT Professionals1 postings
- 18Laundry Assistants1 postings
- 19Laundry Washers1 postings
- 20Morning Hosts1 postings
Top employers
- 01Martin Cleaners4 postings
- 02Master Cleaners3 postings
- 03Abc Cleaners2 postings
- 04Aramark2 postings
- 05Century Linen & Uniform2 postings
- 06Dutchess Cleaners2 postings
- 07Randstad2 postings
- 08Sauder Manufacturing Co.2 postings
- 09Topline Cleaners2 postings
- 10Vestis2 postings
- 11Active Staffing Services1 postings
- 12Advent Cleaners1 postings
- 13Aida Gramajo / Rigoberto Garcia Rodriguez1 postings
- 14Alsco1 postings
- 15Appearance Plus Cleaners1 postings
- 16Bobby Pages Dry Cleaners1 postings
- 17Brian's One Day Dry Cleaners1 postings
- 18Cavalier Cleaners1 postings
- 19Clean Right Cleaners1 postings
- 20Dolphin Cleaners1 postings
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