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Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers

ManufacturingO*NET 51-6041.00United States

Construct, decorate, or repair leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles. May use hand tools.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$33,850

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
+1.3%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
High school diploma or less

100% of the workforce

Employment
11.83K jobs

Growing to 11.97K by 2035

Explore this career by location

Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

Showing United States

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

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The work

What shoe and leather workers and repairers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
  • Cut out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
  • Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets.
  • Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
  • Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
  • Inspect articles for defects, and remove damaged or worn parts, using hand tools.
  • Drill or punch holes and insert or attach metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$22,146
25th percentile
$26,422
50th percentile
$33,850
75th percentile
$43,585
90th percentile
$54,123

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $33,850 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+1.3%average or slower
202511,825 jobs
2035 projected11,973 jobs

148 more 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
100%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Lifting Ability
  • Merchandising
  • Retail Sales
  • Cash Handling
  • Cash Register
  • Loading And Unloading
  • Framer
  • Order Fulfillment Management
  • Hand Tools
  • Selling Techniques
  • Time Off Management
  • Visual Merchandising
  • Inventory Management
  • Glass Cutters
  • Customer Relationship Building
  • Standard Operating Procedure
  • Heat Press
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Textiles
  • Point Of Sale

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
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.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Cobblers46 postings
  2. 02Custom Framers35 postings
  3. 03Money Managers35 postings
  4. 04Shop Helpers28 postings
  5. 05Framers20 postings
  6. 06Leather Workers17 postings
  7. 07Ballet Teachers15 postings
  8. 08Shoemakers15 postings
  9. 09Graders13 postings
  10. 10Creators10 postings
  11. 11Shop Assistants10 postings
  12. 12Web Builders8 postings
  13. 13Production Artists7 postings
  14. 14Screeners7 postings
  15. 15Shop Associates7 postings
  16. 16Craftsmen6 postings
  17. 17Golf Club Technicians6 postings
  18. 18Hardware Associates6 postings
  19. 19Shoe Leads6 postings
  20. 20Team Members6 postings

Top employers

  1. 01Michaels39 postings
  2. 02Hobby Lobby Stores26 postings
  3. 03Ace Hardware19 postings
  4. 04Memphis Goodwill Industries13 postings
  5. 05Cgl Consulting Co., Ltd12 postings
  6. 062Nd Swing Golf10 postings
  7. 07Kad Staffing9 postings
  8. 08The Peach Cobbler Factory Chattanooga9 postings
  9. 09Margaret's Cleaners7 postings
  10. 10Robert Half7 postings
  11. 11Grand Island Public Schools6 postings
  12. 12Dunkin' Donuts5 postings
  13. 13Buff City Soap Franchising4 postings
  14. 14Cueros Vélez S.a.s4 postings
  15. 15Domino's Pizza4 postings
  16. 16Greers4 postings
  17. 17Macy's4 postings
  18. 18Palm Beach Tan4 postings
  19. 19PrideStaff4 postings
  20. 20Summar Productividad4 postings

Keep looking

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