Apparel Manufacturing: NAICS 315

About the Apparel Manufacturing subsector

The apparel manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

The apparel manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Apparel Knitting Mills: NAICS 3151
• Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing: NAICS 3152
• Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing: NAICS 3159

NOTE: There was a change in the definition of this subsector between NAICS 2002 and NAICS 2007. Some of the data below reflect the 2002 definition and some reflect the 2007 definition. See the BLS implementation schedule for NAICS 2007 to find out which BLS programs have already implemented NAICS 2007.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in apparel manufacturing. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		152.5	151.2	(P) 149.7	(P) 149.8
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		112.2	111.4	(P) 109.2	(P) 110.5
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		6	7	17
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		513	1,198	1,586
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Extended mass layoff events		4	11	(P) 5	(P) 6
Separations		1,911	3,373	(P) 1,246	(P) 943
Initial claimants		1,953	3,625	(P) 1,611	(P) 1,100
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2010
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	5,940
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	4,750
Sewing machine operators	64,100
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders	4,370
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders	2,950

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for apparel manufacturing.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in apparel manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$16.71	$17.00	(P) $17.53	(P) $17.30
Average weekly hours		36.7	36.7	(P) 37.3	(P) 38.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$12.23	$12.32	(P) $12.59	(P) $12.76
Average weekly hours		37.9	37.7	(P) 37.2	(P) 37.9
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2010
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	$18.14	$20.34	$37,730	$42,310
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	$10.71	$12.06	$22,270	$25,080
Sewing machine operators	$9.22	$10.10	$19,180	$21,020
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders	$10.41	$11.09	$21,660	$23,070
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders	$10.50	$11.03	$21,850	$22,950

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in apparel manufacturing. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2007	2008	2009	2010
Fatalities
Number of fatalities		4
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.6	2.6	(1) 2.6	(1) 3.0
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.4	1.2	(1) 1.3	(1) 1.5
Cases involving days away from work	0.6	0.6	(1) 0.4	(1) 0.7
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.7	0.5	(1) 0.9	(1) 0.8
Footnotes (1) Industry scope changed in 2009

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

Data series	Back data	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Producer price index		(P) 106.7	(P) 106.3	(P) 106.8	(P) 106.6
Percent change from previous month		(P) 0.5%	(P) -0.4%	(P) 0.5%	(P) -0.2%
Import index		111.2	111.6	(R) 111.5	111.2
Percent change from previous month		0.1%	0.4%	(R) -0.1%	(R) -0.3%
Export index		(R) 114.3	(R) 114.4	(R) 114.4	114.8
Percent change from previous month		(R) 0.1%	(R) 0.1%	(R) 0.0%	(R) 0.3%
Footnotes (R) Revised (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in apparel manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2010	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry		7,869	7,851	(P) 7,453	(P) 7,475
Local government
State government		1	1	(P) 1	(P) 1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series	Back data	2006	2007	2008	2009
Labor productivity index, output per hour		86.000	55.544	52.450	43.618
Percent change from previous year		-8.9	-35.4	-5.6	-16.8
Labor index, total labor hours		68.184	66.549	58.533	50.943
Percent change from previous year		-4.5	-2.4	-12.0	-13.0
Output index		58.639	36.964	30.701	22.220
Percent change from previous year		-13.0	-37.0	-16.9	-27.6
Unit labor costs index		119.755	171.047	186.380	200.004
Percent change from previous year		12.8	42.8	9.0	7.3

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See textile, textile product, and apparel manufacturing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012