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USA:Textile & apparel sector slashes 29,900 jobs
in 2004 - Report |
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2005-1-11
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The apparel and textile industries took another beating last year as imports continued to take their toll on domestic employment, while retailers also absorbed job losses in 2004.
According to the Labor Department’s employment report released on Friday, employment losses continued to plague the industries even as the US added a total of 157,000 new jobs.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.4 percent. Textile and apparel manufacturers slashed a combined 29,900 jobs from payrolls in 2004.
Total employment in the two sectors stood at 683,100 last month compared with 713,000 in December 2003, as US companies continued to consolidate and shutter due to what many executives claim is competition from low-cost imports.
Textile mill employment decreased by 800 last month and stood at 230,400, a decline of 10,600 against a year ago, while textile mill product employment increased by 200 in December and stood at 180,200, an increase of 5,900 over a year ago.
Apparel factories cut 800 jobs in December and employment stood at 272,500, a decline of 25,200 against a year ago. The pace of the combined losses slowed significantly in 2004. The combined loss in 2003 was 98,400.
The biggest loss of 169,000 jobs occurred in 2001, according to Charles McMillion, President and Chief Economist at MBG Information Services.
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