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Sewing Machine Operators vs Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Sewing Machine Operators and Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Sewing Machine Operators Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$36,000
$49,390
Employment · BLS OEWS
109,590
96,950
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
7th pct
27th pct

At a glance

Dimension Sewing Machine Operators Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay $36,000 $49,390
Employment 109,590 96,950
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-10.8%) Declining (-6.3%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 13,000 8,100
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 7th pct Low · 27th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 17th pct · 15% of tasks 46th pct · 25% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Control Precision, Near Vision, Finger Dexterity, Monitoring, Information Ordering, Rate Control, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Reaction Time, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Time Management, Flexibility of Closure, English Language, Reading Comprehension, Operation and Control, Speech Recognition, Production and Processing, Coordination, Social Perceptiveness.

Specific to Sewing Machine Operators

  • Multilimb Coordination
  • Visualization
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Far Vision
  • Depth Perception
  • Written Comprehension

Specific to Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Speaking
  • Active Learning
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Trunk Strength
  • Extent Flexibility

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software .

Specific to Sewing Machine Operators

Specific to Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Sewing Machine Operators or Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Sewing Machine Operators vs Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/sewing-machine-operators-vs-paper-goods-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Sewing Machine Operators vs Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/sewing-machine-operators-vs-paper-goods-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-sewing-machine-operators-vs-paper-goods-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders,
  title  = {Sewing Machine Operators vs Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/sewing-machine-operators-vs-paper-goods-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.