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Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Production · SOC 51-6062

1.5% AI Exposure — Medium
$38,760
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
1,000
Proj. Annual Openings
9,000
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-6.2%/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 51-6062 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
1.5%
Medium · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
52/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$38,760
No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
Projected openings
1,000
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -11.7%.
Observed/proxy demand
FY— certified LCAs; 1,156 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlMonitoringQuality Control AnalysisActive Listening
  • 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 Exposure1.5%
AI Resiliency98/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

18.9%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic1.5%
AI capability · OpenAI16.1%
AI ability · AIOE39.2%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne95%

Top Skills

1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operation and Control
3.Monitoring
4.Quality Control Analysis
5.Active Listening

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

Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut textiles.

Common titles: Automated Cutting Machine Operator, CNC Cutting Operator (Computer Numerical Control Cutting Operator), Cutter, Cutter Operator, Die Cut Operator, Fabric Cutter

Representative Tasks

  • Inspect products to ensure that the quality standards and specifications are met.
  • Place patterns on top of layers of fabric and cut fabric following patterns, using electric or manual knives, cutters, or computer numerically controlled cutting devices.
  • Start machines, monitor operations, and make adjustments as needed.
  • Adjust machine controls, such as heating mechanisms, tensions, or speeds, to produce specified products.
  • Record information about work completed and machine settings.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
  • Operate textile cutting or production equipment.
  • Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.
  • Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
  • Inspect textile products.

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 51-6062: 2019 — employment: 13,210, median wage: $28,730; 2020 — employment: 12,650, median wage: $29,910; 2021 — employment: 11,970, median wage: $29,960; 2022 — employment: 10,700, median wage: $34,420; 2023 — employment: 9,760, median wage: $36,620; 2025 — employment: 9,000, median wage: $38,760.

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

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure1.5%0.7%
OutlookAverage4% Bright
Median Salary$38,760N/A
AI Resiliency98/100N/A