Sewers, Hand
In short: today's best AI models could do about 0% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 100% of the time, stays with people.
Sew, join, reinforce, or finish, usually with needle and thread, a variety of manufactured items. Includes weavers and stitchers.
2,190 people do this job in the US. $36,480 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people40 h
Sewers, Hand, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 40 hours stay with people.
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.
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.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 11 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 100% of this job's working time as physical work. For 96% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 96% in a purpose-built cell. 0.96 of 3, the 140th highest of the 923 jobs.
- No robot shown 4%
- In a purpose-built cell 96%
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. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 11 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sew, join, reinforce, or finish parts of articles, such as garments, books, mattresses, toys, and wigs, using needles and thread or other materials.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, LOWRY SEWBOT worklines (SoftWear Automation) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 25% | 38 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Use different sewing techniques such as felling, tacking, basting, embroidery, and fagoting.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Sewbo/Siemens robotic denim sewing workcell (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 21% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Fit garments on clients, altering as needed.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 17% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Smooth seams with heated irons, flat bones, or rubbing sticks.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Macpi 506.00 series seam-opening / pressing machines (506.00-2053+967, 506.00-0207/0208, 506.00-2182) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Sew buttonholes, or add lace or other trimming.Done several times a day by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TLMX taping & coiling embroidery machine (Tajima) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Fold, twist, stretch, or drape material, and secure articles in preparation for sewing.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Dürkopp Adler pocket setters (e.g. 806N series) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Measure and align parts, fasteners, or trimmings, following seams, edges, or markings on parts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Robotic apparel automation system (Siemens Technology + Sewbo stiffening technique) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 8 min3 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Select thread, twine, cord, or yarn to be used, and thread needles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Brother Entrepreneur Pro X PR1055X (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 8 min | Stays with people | |
| Trim excess threads or edges of parts, using scissors or knives.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Dvolu upholstery robotic cell (FANUC M-710iC + vision + laser trimming) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Draw and cut patterns according to specifications.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Lectra Vector (automated multi-ply fabric cutter) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Tie, knit, weave or knot ribbon, yarn, or decorative materials.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Credit Ocean automatic bow making machines (JHT-10/20/30/70B/80 series) (Ningbo Credit Ocean Machinery & Electron Co., Ltd.) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 38 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Sewing Machine Operators2% now, 2% by 2028
- Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers10% now, 10% by 2028
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders6% now, 6% by 2028
- Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers51% now, 52% by 2028
- Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials2% now, 2% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Sewers, Hand is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 0% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 0% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. 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 tasks of Sewers, Hand come within reach first?
- No task has a meaningful share of its time within reach now or by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five: the work is mostly people work and body work, which the site does not count.
- Which tasks of Sewers, Hand stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Sew, join, reinforce, or finish parts of articles, such as garments, books, mattresses, toys, and wigs, using needles and thread or other materials; Use different sewing techniques such as felling, tacking, basting, embroidery, and fagoting; and Fit garments on clients, altering as needed. Together such tasks are about 100% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Sewers, Hand?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Sewers, Hand?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 100% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 96% of the working time. Its index is 0.96 of 3. One example: LOWRY SEWBOT worklines for "sew, join, reinforce, or finish parts of articles, such as garments, books, mattresses, toys, and wigs, using needles and thread or other materials". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 11 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, 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. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
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