Industry group, 3151
Apparel Knitting Mills
5,960 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $42,110 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 2 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 22%
- 5%
- 73%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 16% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 3,330 people in jobs so far, 56% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 955,843 hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 678,095 hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 207,099 hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 16%
- 10%
- 3%
- 4%
- 67%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 3,330 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft2,650 (80%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself1,230 (37%)
- Judgment where errors are severe635 (19%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts515 (15%)
- Running AI inside the business systems260 (8%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 20%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 74% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 64% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 43% in a purpose-built cell, 21% in a structured facility. 0.85 of 3.
- Not physical 26%
- No robot shown 9%
- In a purpose-built cell 43%
- In a structured facility 21%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 19 largest jobs hold 96% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 1,450 | 10% | 298,584 | $36K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 130 | 88% | 238,223 | $56K |
| Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers | 410 | 27% | 226,845 | $36K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 170 | 48% | 168,668 | $49K |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | 140 | 53% | 154,627 | $36K |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 90 | 72% | 134,784 | $46K |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | 390 | 13% | 103,834 | $41K |
| Office Clerks, General | 80 | 56% | 94,016 | $39K |
| Packers and Packagers, Hand | 600 | 7% | 88,608 | $28K |
| General and Operations Managers | 60 | 45% | 56,160 | $115K |
| Fashion Designers | 60 | 43% | 53,790 | $47K |
| Industrial Production Managers | 50 | 51% | 53,145 | $94K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 8 smaller jobs (220 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 84% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Program electronic equipment.Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders120,007 hours100% of the task within reach
- Study guides, loom patterns, samples, charts, or specification sheets, or confer with supervisors or engineering staff to determine setup requirements.Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders95,517 hours100% of the task within reach
- Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records.Packers and Packagers, Hand88,795 hours100% of the task within reach
- Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers72,607 hours100% of the task within reach
- Analyze test results, machine error messages, or information obtained from operators to diagnose equipment problems.Industrial Machinery Mechanics49,561 hours70% of the task within reach
- Notify supervisors or repair staff of mechanical malfunctions.Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders42,737 hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks42,277 hours100% of the task within reach
- Record information about work completed and machine settings.Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders39,902 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers39,893 hours100% of the task within reach
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks37,320 hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Apparel Knitting Mills is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 20% of the paid hours in Apparel Knitting Mills are within reach of AI models now and 22% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (21% to 22% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Apparel Knitting Mills carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (1,450 people, 10% of their time, about 298,584 hours a year); Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (130 people, 88% of their time, about 238,222 hours a year); and Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers (410 people, 27% of their time, about 226,845 hours a year).
- Which tasks in Apparel Knitting Mills carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Program electronic equipment (Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, about 120,007 hours a year); Study guides, loom patterns, samples, charts, or specification sheets, or confer with supervisors or engineering staff to determine setup requirements (Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, about 95,517 hours a year); and Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records (Packers and Packagers, Hand, about 88,795 hours a year).
- What would people working in Apparel Knitting Mills learn first?
- Among the 3,330 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (2,650 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (1,230 people); and judgment where errors are severe (635 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 74% of their working time stays with people, 20% becomes checking a model's work and 6% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Apparel Knitting Mills (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 84% of its people, and 56% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.