National
| Median wages (2008) |
$9.15 hourly, $19,040 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
77,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Decline slowly or moderately (-3% to -9%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
6,000 additional employees |
51-6021.00 - Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
Sample of reported job titles:
Presser, Shirt Presser, Pants Presser, Pressing Machine Operator, Silk Presser, Garment Presser, Dry Cleaner Presser
Tasks
- Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
- Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
- Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
- Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
- 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.
- Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
- Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
- Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
- Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
