Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 27-1022, #487 of 1,410 by filings
Fashion Designers
- Biggest sponsor
- I I WHOLESALE CORP. · 9% of its filings
- Busiest state
- CA · 73% of its filings
- Major group
- Arts, design, media and sport · SOC 27
Weighing an offer for this job?
Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.
This rate is level with the field
Over 44 decided filings, this rate can't be told apart from the field in either direction.
Why
The 95% interval runs up to a 18.2% denial rate, which still covers the 3.20% the field as a whole records.
Median wage
$53,082
all PERM $103,272
Filings
44
#487 of 1,410
Approval
93.2%
field 96.8%
Median days
388
89 faster than the field
What it pays
Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.
Median offered wage
$53,082above 36%
Approval rate
93.2%ahead of 28%
Median days to decision
388 daysahead of 83%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
Who files it
The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.
Sponsors filing it
- I I WHOLESALE CORP. 4 filings
- BINEE BLUE INC 2 filings
- ENK APPAREL, INC. 2 filings
- NIKE, INC. 2 filings
- Tory Burch LLC 2 filings
- UNIT FASHION INC 2 filings
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 14 of 44 filings, 32% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Law Offices of Jim Kahng 11 filings
- Law Offices of James S. Hong 4 filings
- TRUE LIGHT LEGAL SERVICE GROUP 3 filings
- Berry Appleman Leiden LLP 2 filings
- Law Firm of Kim and Min 2 filings
- Law Offices of Jane Chung, APLC. 2 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 24 of 44 filings, 55% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- California 32
- New York 8
- Oregon 2
- North Carolina 1
- Washington 1
How this is counted
The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 5 states cover 44 of 44 filings.
Where the work is
- Los Angeles, CA 15
- Vernon, CA 12
- New York, NY 7
- Beaverton, OR 2
- Commerce, CA 1
- Compton, CA 1
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 38 of 44 filings.
- Every sponsor that files it, by state, approval rate, offered wage and time to a decision
- Every filing for it, PERM, wage requests and H-1B, case by case
Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023
From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.
Country of citizenship
- South Korea 430
- United Kingdom 62
- Canada 20
- China 17
- France 17
- Taiwan 14
Worker's education
- Bachelor's 499
- Associate's 62
- Master's 55
- None 40
- Other 18
- High School 6
Visa held when filed
- H-1B 253
- F-1 124
- J-1 73
- O-1 54
- L-1 22
- NOT IN USA 16
Schools
- FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 38
- PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN 23
- DONGSEO UNIVERSITY 22
- OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN 16
- EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY 11
- HANSUNG UNIVERSITY 11
Fields of study
- FASHION DESIGN 324
- FASHION 23
- TEXTILE DESIGN 18
- FINE ARTS 14
- CLOTHING & TEXTILES 11
- INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 10
The job itself
What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.
- United States21,450 jobs
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CALos Angeles, Vernon, Commerce
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJNew York
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WABeaverton
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
- median PERM offer
| Area | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $80,960 | ||||
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | — | $43,950 | $67,475 | $91,000 | $114,525 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $99,560 | $67,642 | $90,230 | $112,819 | $135,408 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | — | $43,950 | $67,475 | $91,000 | $114,525 |
How these figures fit together
BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.
The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More
DOL's levels for this job in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, year by year
Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.
| Wage year | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $43,950 | $67,475 | $91,000 | $114,525 |
| 2025-26 | $42,349 | $82,181 | $122,034 | $161,866 |
| 2024-25 | $46,696 | $71,739 | $96,782 | $121,826 |
| 2023-24 | $52,978 | $72,613 | $92,269 | $111,904 |
| 2022-23 | $53,082 | $72,030 | $91,000 | $109,949 |
| 2021-22 | $49,317 | $74,485 | $99,653 | $124,821 |
What the job is
Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.
- Preparation
- Medium Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- DOL's education basis
- Bachelor's degree
- Wage year 2026-27, on DOL's Appendix A list
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +0.1%
- About 2,500 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- Bachelor's degree
- BLS
The work, most important first
- Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
- Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
- Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
- Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
- Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
- Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
The education workers in it report
- 44%
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
- 51%
Bachelor's Degree
Titles people use for it
Apparel Designer, Costume Designer, Designer, Fashion Designer, Apparel and Accessories Designer, Fashion Design Contractor, Fashion Graphic Designer, Fashion Stylist.
Related jobs: Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers, Commercial and Industrial Designers, Craft Artists, Graphic Designers, Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers, Costume Attendants.
This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Against other jobs
Where this sits in the ranking
Ranked 487 of 1,410 by volume: 486 filed at least as many filings, and 923 filed no more.
- Just above
- Construction Carpenters 44 filings
- Just below
- Helpers--Electricians 43 filings
Other arts, design, media and sport roles
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.
- #517 Art Directors 37 filings · 1 denied
- #452 Film and Video Editors 51 filings · 3 denied
- #530 Artists and Related Workers, All Other 32 filings · 1 denied
- #430 Music Directors and Composers 58 filings · 1 denied
- #549 Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers 28 filings · none denied
- #552 Technical Writers 28 filings · 1 denied
The same job on H-1B
817 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $70,000 a year; the middle half ran $54,496 to $89,710. By state and year in the salary explorer.
Notes on these numbers
Reading the wage
A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.
What the median is
The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.
What these numbers don't say
4 notes
- The code is the identity
- This one is SOC 27-1022. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
- A median isn’t an offer
- It's the middle of all 44 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
- Approval isn’t about the occupation
- The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Fashion Designers. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 44 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is I I WHOLESALE CORP.. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.
The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built
Weighing an offer?
Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.
Setting one?
All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.
Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load
O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.
O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.
BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.
BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it