Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
51-6021.00
Updated 2025

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

Sample of reported job titles: Boarder, Dry Cleaner Presser, Garment Presser, Ironing Machine Operator, Ironing Worker, Pants Presser, Presser, Pressing Machine Operator, Shirt Presser, Silk Presser

Occupation-Specific Information

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.
  • 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.
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Technology Skills

Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Spend Time Standing — 57% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 64% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment — 52% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 40% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 23% responded “Limited freedom.”
  • Time Pressure — 58% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings — 53% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 49% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 35% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Contact With Others — 45% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body — 39% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Level of Competition — 61% responded “Highly competitive.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 34% responded “Very high responsibility.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 43% responded “Every day.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone One: Little or No Preparation Needed
Education
Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Related Experience
Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations involve following instructions and helping others. Examples include agricultural equipment operators, dishwashers, floor sanders and finishers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, logging equipment operators, baristas, and maids and housekeeping cleaners.
SVP Range
(Below 4.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Knowledge

  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 59%
     
    Less than high school diploma required
  • 26%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 14%
     
    Doctoral degree required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Reaction Time — The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Interests

Interest code: RC
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  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$16.29 hourly, $33,880 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
28,400 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Decline (-1% or lower)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
2,800
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations