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Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders

Production · SOC 51-6061

2.1% AI Exposure — Medium
$38,180
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
1,000
Proj. Annual Openings
5,310
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-7.9%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
98/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 51-6061 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
2.1%
Medium · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
52/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$38,180
No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
Projected openings
1,000
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -10.1%.
Observed/proxy demand
FY— certified LCAs; 1,064 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlActive ListeningMonitoringTime Management
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure2.1%
AI Resiliency98/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

20.3%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic2.1%
AI capability · OpenAI15.8%
AI ability · AIOE43.1%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne97%

Top Skills

1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operation and Control
3.Active Listening
4.Monitoring
5.Time Management

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

Operate or tend machines to bleach, shrink, wash, dye, or finish textiles or synthetic or glass fibers.

Common titles: Beck Operator, Dye House Worker, Dye Line Operator, Dye Machine Operator, Dye Operator, Dye Tub Operator

Representative Tasks

  • Weigh ingredients, such as dye, to be mixed together for use in textile processing.
  • Start and control machines and equipment to wash, bleach, dye, or otherwise process and finish fabric, yarn, thread, or other textile goods.
  • Observe display screens, control panels, equipment, and cloth entering or exiting processes to determine if equipment is operating correctly.
  • Notify supervisors or mechanics of equipment malfunctions.
  • Monitor factors such as temperatures and dye flow rates to ensure that they are within specified ranges.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes.
  • Operate garment treatment equipment.
  • Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
  • Apply solutions to production equipment.
  • Monitor equipment operation to ensure that products are not flawed.

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-6061: 2019 — employment: 8,690, median wage: $29,460; 2020 — employment: 7,260, median wage: $30,260; 2021 — employment: 6,240, median wage: $29,930; 2022 — employment: 6,640, median wage: $32,680; 2023 — employment: 6,650, median wage: $35,340; 2025 — employment: 5,310, median wage: $38,180.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure2.1%0.7%
OutlookAverage4% Bright
Median Salary$38,180N/A
AI Resiliency98/100N/A