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Sewing Machine Operators: Jobs in Demand in Europe (2025)

Sewing Machine Operators is an official occupation group (ISCO-08 code 8153) used by the International Labour Organization and Eurostat.

  • Embroidery machine operator
  • Sewing machine operator
9European countries report a shortage (EURES 2025)
6countries report a surplus
83open job ads right now in Germany and Sweden
8153ISCO-08 occupation code
Short answerIn the 2025 EURES report on labour shortages, 9 European countries reported a shortage of sewing machine operators: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. 6 reported a surplus: Austria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia and Spain. Hungary appears in both lists, which usually means shortages in some regions and surpluses in others.

Latest sewing machine operators job ads

Real vacancies from the official public employment services, updated daily. Job titles are translated into English automatically; the full ad opens on the official site in German or Swedish (your browser's translate button turns it into English).

Germany

73 open ads

Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Germany

Sweden

10 open ads

Source: Arbetsförmedlingen (Swedish Public Employment Service). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Sweden

Where sewing machine operators are needed in Europe

CountryEURES 2025Average gross pay, all plant and machine operators and assemblers (2022)1-bed rent in the capital
BelgiumShortageNot yet verifiedBrussels: €1,150
BulgariaShortage€626 a monthSofia: €650
CzechiaShortage€1,285 a monthPrague: €1,250
ItalyShortage€2,300 a month *Rome: €1,300
LithuaniaShortageNot yet verifiedVilnius: €830
RomaniaShortage€924 a month *Not yet verified
SlovakiaShortage€1,230 a monthBratislava: €910
SloveniaShortage€1,633 a monthLjubljana: €950
HungaryShortage and surplus€1,053 a month *Budapest: €910
AustriaSurplus€3,040 a month *Vienna: €1,250
FinlandSurplus€3,361 a month *Helsinki: €1,150
GermanySurplus€2,907 a monthBerlin: €1,350
LatviaSurplus€1,221 a monthRiga: €870
SpainSurplus€1,936 a monthMadrid: €1,300

Pay: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022, mean gross monthly earnings of all plant and machine operators and assemblers in each country, in euros. This is the average for the whole occupation group, not for sewing machine operators alone, and before tax. * Firms with 10 or more employees only. Rent: Eurostat, good-quality 1-bedroom flat in the capital, 2025.

What sewing machine operators do

Sewing machine operators monitor and operate sewing machines to make, repair, darn and renovate textile, fur, synthetic or leather garments or embroider ornamental designs on garments or other materials. They operate buttonhole making and eyelet holing machines to cut holes, stitch around holes, stitch buttons and fix eyelets to garments.

Typical tasks

  • Operating or tending sewing machines to perform garment sewing operations, such as joining, reinforcing, seaming or decorating garments or garment parts
  • Attaching buttons, hooks, zippers, fasteners or other accessories to fabric, using feeding hoppers or clamp holders
  • Tending semiautomatic sewing machines with multiple-sewing heads controlled by pattern chain that embroiders various designs on garments
  • Operating machines, such as single or double needle sergers and flat-bed felling machines to automatically join, reinforce, or decorate material or articles
  • Operating fur sewing machines to join fur pelt strips to required size and shape and join pelts into garment sections or shells
  • Operating stitching machines to sew leather parts together for leather garments, handbags , gloves or similar items
  • Monitoring machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions
  • Performing equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles

Finding sewing machine operators jobs in Europe

Search all EU vacancies on EURES Check if your job is regulated
  • EURES is the official job portal of the EU public employment services. The search above looks for "Sewing machine operator".
  • Some jobs are regulated professions: before you can work, your qualification may need to be recognised in the new country.
  • If you are not an EU/EEA citizen you will usually need a work permit or a visa such as the EU Blue Card. Check the rules of the country's immigration authority.

Cost of living where the jobs are

Take-home pay needed to rent a good 1-bedroom flat in the capitals of countries reporting a shortage:

BrusselsSofiaPragueRomeVilniusBratislavaLjubljanaBudapest

About this data

  • Shortage and surplus: European Labour Authority, EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025, annex table 21 (published 2026). Each country's public employment service reports which occupations it finds hard to fill or in oversupply. Countries not listed did not report this occupation as either.
  • Definition, tasks and job titles: International Labour Organization, ISCO-08 structure and definitions.
  • Pay: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_48), by occupation group.
  • Job ads: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany) and Arbetsförmedlingen (Sweden), refreshed about once a day.

See all jobs in demand in Europe · Methodology