Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

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MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$35,060USD per year · Published 50th percentile

Median hourly wage$16.85USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
Percentile	Annual wage (USD/year)	Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th	$27,180	$13.07
25th	$29,870	$14.36
50th · Median	$35,060	$16.85
75th	$37,940	$18.24
90th	$43,050	$20.70

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

Official wage context Official source data How to read percentiles

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

All-Around PresserArmhole PresserAutomatic PresserBlockerBoarderBobbin PresserBrim PresserBuffing Wheel PresserBulk FolderCalender Machine OperatorClothes IronerClothes Presser

Expand more title examples (48)

Clothing PresserCoat PresserCreaserCrown PresserCurtain StretcherDelicate Fabrics PresserDrapery Head FormerDry Clean PresserDry Cleaner PresserFlap PresserFlat FinisherFlat IronerFlatwork FinisherFlatwork IronerFlatwork PresserForm PresserFur IronerGarment FolderGarment PresserGarment SteamerHand Flatwork FinisherHand IronerHand PresserHandkerchief PresserHat BlockerHat IronerHat Lining BlockerHat PresserHat SteamerHydraulic Press OperatorIronerIroning Machine OperatorIroning PleaterIroning WorkerKnitted Goods ShaperLaundry Press OperatorLaundry PresserLeather FinisherLinen FolderLinens FolderMachine PresserMachine Straw Hat PresserMangle FeederManglerMillinery BlockerPants PresserPatch Press OperatorPatching Machine Operator

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.

Expand more tasks (22)

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.
Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
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.
Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
Press ties on small pressing machines.
Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.
Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.
Use covering cloths to prevent equipment from damaging delicate fabrics.
Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as tape measures and micrometers.
Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes.
Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.
Insert heated metal forms into ties and touch up rough places with hand irons.
Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.
Sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines.
Select, install, and adjust machine components, including pressing forms, rollers, and guides, using hoists and hand tools.

Skills used in this work

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.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Expand more skills (29)

Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Equipment Selection: Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
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.
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.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Management of Financial Resources: Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources: Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Technology Design: Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Installation: Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Programming: Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Science: Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

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