Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
Occupation · SOC 51-6041.00
Construct, decorate, or repair leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles. May use hand tools.
Also called: Boot Maker · Cobbler · Shoe Maker · Shoe Repairer · Leather Worker · Saddle and Harness Maker · Shoe Cutter · Shoe Repairman · Stitcher · Back Shoe Cutter · Bench Hand · Boot Repairer
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-6041-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-3.8% by 2034)
- 900 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $35,950/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
10th-percentile task overlap — yet about 900 openings a year (-3.8% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 18th | -1.0 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 16th | 0.1 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 9th | 0.0 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.5 · 47th percentile among occupations · Moderate
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -3.8% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 9,500 → 9,100 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 3 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers sits at the 15th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
14% mean task exposure (2025)
15th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Shoemakers and Related Workers · 7536 | 17% | Not exposed |
| Handicraft Workers in Textile, Leather and Related Materials · 7318 | 13% | Not exposed |
| Sewing, Embroidery and Related Workers · 7533 | 12% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 27 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Prepare inserts, heel pads, and lifts from casts of customers' feet. Supplemental · importance 4.8
- Dress and otherwise finish boots or shoes, as by trimming the edges of new soles and heels to the shoe shape. Supplemental · importance 4.8
- Attach insoles to shoe lasts, affix shoe uppers, and apply heels and outsoles. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Clean and polish shoes. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Cement, nail, or sew soles and heels to shoes. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Check the texture, color, and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes. Core · importance 4.4
- Place shoes on lasts to remove soles and heels, using knives or pliers. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Shape shoe heels with a knife, and sand them on a buffing wheel for smoothness. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Repair or replace soles, heels, and other parts of footwear, using sewing, buffing and other shoe repair machines, materials, and equipment. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Cut, insert, position, and secure paddings, cushioning, or linings, using stitches or glue. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets. Core · importance 4.3
- Cut out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses. Core · importance 4.3
- Estimate the costs of requested products or services such as custom footwear or footwear repair, and receive payment from customers. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Draw patterns, using measurements, designs, plaster casts, or customer specifications, and position or outline patterns on work pieces. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Nail heel and toe cleats onto shoes. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves. Core · importance 4.3
- Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts. Core · importance 4.2
- Inspect articles for defects, and remove damaged or worn parts, using hand tools. Core · importance 4.2
- Re-sew seams, and replace handles and linings of suitcases or handbags. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Stretch shoes, dampening parts and inserting and twisting parts, using an adjustable stretcher. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Drill or punch holes and insert or attach metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles. Core · importance 4.0
- Read prescriptions or specifications, and take measurements to establish the type of product to be made, using calipers, tape measures, or rules. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Attach accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Make, modify, and repair orthopedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modify existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Select materials and patterns, and trace patterns onto materials to be cut out. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Measure customers for fit, and discuss with them the type of footwear to be made, recommending details such as leather quality. Supplemental
Work activities
- Cut fabrics.
- Attach decorative or functional accessories to products.
- Sew clothing or other articles.
- Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
- Prepare fabrics or materials for processing or production.
- Select production input materials.
- Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
- Trim excess material from workpieces.
- Estimate costs of products, services, or materials.
- Assemble garments or textile products.
- Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
- Repair textiles or apparel.
- Operate sewing equipment.
- Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
- Apply water or solutions to fabrics or apparel.
- Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
- Evaluate quality of materials or products.
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Measure clients to ensure proper product fit.
- Inspect garments for defects, damage, or stains.
- Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials.
- Design templates or patterns.
- Position patterns on equipment, materials, or workpieces.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Abilities
| Near Vision | 3.5 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.3 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.3 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.1 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.0 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.0 | |
| Visualization | 3.0 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.0 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.0 | |
| Control Precision | 3.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 2.9 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.9 | |
| Written Comprehension | 2.8 | |
| Reaction Time | 2.8 | |
| Far Vision | 2.8 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.8 | |
| Trunk Strength | 2.6 |
Knowledge
| Production and Processing | 3.2 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.0 | |
| Mechanical | 2.9 | |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.6 | |
| Administration and Management | 2.4 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.0 | |
| Speaking | 3.0 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.9 | |
| Active Learning | 2.4 |
Transferable skills
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.9 | |
| Coordination | 2.9 | |
| Service Orientation | 2.9 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 2.9 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.9 | |
| Time Management | 2.8 | |
| Quality Control Analysis | 2.5 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Precision Production . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 56.4% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 43.6% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.9 | |
| Conventional | 3.2 | |
| Artistic | 3.1 | |
| Investigative | 1.6 | |
| Enterprising | 1.5 | |
| Social | 1.3 |
Interest areas
| Physical/Manual Labor | 3.4 | |
| Visual Arts | 3.1 | |
| Applied Arts and Design | 3.1 | |
| Construction/Woodwork | 2.6 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 1.5 | |
| Personal Service | 1.3 | |
| Engineering | 1.3 |
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 2.3 | |
| Dependability | 2.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 1.5 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $25,170 |
| 25th percentile | $29,400 |
| Median (50th) | $35,950 |
| 75th percentile | $41,400 |
| 90th percentile | $48,090 |
| People employed | 7,640 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 5,870 | $35,040 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 690 | $39,580 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 570 | $39,310 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 460 | $38,990 |
| Sporting Goods Retailers · National industry | 150 | $40,830 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | — | $28,420 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | — | $28,420 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sporting Goods Retailers · National industry | 10.17× | 150 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 9.28× | 5,870 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 3.15× | 690 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1.54× | 460 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 0.74× | 570 |
Related occupations
Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.
- Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders · 51-6042.00 Compare →
- Sewers, Hand · 51-6051.00 Compare →
- Sewing Machine Operators · 51-6031.00 Compare →
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · 51-9195.00 Compare →
- Upholsterers · 51-6093.00 Compare →
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand · 51-9022.00 Compare →
- Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers · 51-6052.00 Compare →
- Furniture Finishers · 51-7021.00 Compare →
- Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers · 51-9071.00 Compare →
- Cutters and Trimmers, Hand · 51-9031.00 Compare →
- Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials · 51-6021.00 Compare →
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers · 51-9123.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Precision Production · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 15th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers show 10th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers rank in the 10th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-3.8%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $35,950, across about 7,640 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers show 10th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings • Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers rank in the 10th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-3.8%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $35,950, across about 7,640 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-6041-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers." 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/roles/role-51-6041-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-6041-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-6041-00,
title = {Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers},
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/roles/role-51-6041-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.