FACTORY JOBS CONTINUE TO DECLINE
Byline: Kristi Ellis
WASHINGTON — Apparel and textile factory employment continued its steady decline in June, as weak retail sales and increased foreign sourcing fueled the attrition.
The drop of 5,000 apparel manufacturing jobs in June to 574,000 accelerated from May’s drop of a seasonally adjusted 1,000 jobs. Textile mills lost another 8,000 jobs from their payrolls to end June at 471,000. For the first six months, the textile industry lost 39,000 jobs while apparel payrolls lost 30,000.
Consultant Carl Priestland said, “The information flow and the ability to better control the pipeline has reduced the need for things to be made in the U.S.”
Employment in apparel and accessories stores, which had slipped the last three months, remained unchanged at 1.22 million, still 38,000 more than June 2000. Department store employment gained another 1,000 in June for a total of 2.47 million jobs.
Diane Kutyla, an economist with the Consumer Business Practice at Deloitte & Touche, said, “In the second half of the year, it will be a wing and a prayer to keep employment gains in retail.” She said the “wing” is the $40 billion in tax rebates for consumers, while the “prayer” is lower interest rates.
Overall, June’s unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent to 4.5 percent.