Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Also called: All-Around Presser, Armhole Presser, Automatic Presser, Blocker, Boarder, Bobbin Presser, Brim Presser, Buffing Wheel Presser
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
What pressers, textile, garment, and related materials do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
- Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
- Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
- Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
- Identify and treat spots on garments.
- Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
- Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
- Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
- Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
- 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.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials salary
The median annual wage for pressers, textile, garment, and related materials is $35,060 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $27,180 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $43,050. The mean annual wage is $34,640.
The mean hourly wage of $16.00 is 2.2× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $35,060 → in 3 years $37,500 → in 5 years $39,200 → in 10 years $43,800 (10-year range $37,700–$50,900). The model assumes pay growth of +2.3% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become pressers, textile, garment, and related materials
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as pressers, textile, garment, and related materials
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.