U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Industries at a Glance

Apparel Manufacturing: NAICS 315

About the Apparel Manufacturing subsector

The apparel manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

Industries in the Apparel Manufacturing subsector group establishments with two distinct manufacturing processes: (1) cut and sew (i.e., purchasing fabric and cutting and sewing to make a garment), and (2) the manufacture of garments in establishments that first knit fabric and then cut and sew the fabric into a garment. The Apparel Manufacturing subsector includes a diverse range of establishments manufacturing full lines of ready-to-wear apparel and custom apparel: apparel contractors, performing cutting or sewing operations on materials owned by others; jobbers performing entrepreneurial functions involved in apparel manufacture; and tailors, manufacturing custom garments for individual clients are all included. Knitting, when done alone, is classified in the Textile Mills subsector, but when knitting is combined with the production of complete garments, the activity is classified in Apparel Manufacturing.

North American Industry Classification System

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	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	148.0	148.2	(P) 145.7	(P) 142.8
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)	107.7	108.5	(P) 106.1	(P) 104.0
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	16	4	5	9
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	2,149	240	828	845
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
Extended mass layoff events	7	4	(P) 7	(P) 5
Separations	1,255	748	(P) 731	(P) 723
Initial claimants	1,311	931	(P) 801	(P) 915
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2012
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	4,410
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	4,220
Sewing machine operators	58,840
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders	5,100
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders	2,420

(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	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$17.88	$17.68	(P) $17.51	(P) $17.61
Average weekly hours	36.2	36.5	(P) 36.0	(P) 36.1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$12.94	$12.91	(P) $12.97	(P) $13.18
Average weekly hours	37.2	37.3	(P) 37.0	(P) 37.1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	$19.03	$20.89	$39,580	$43,460
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	$10.23	$11.96	$21,280	$24,880
Sewing machine operators	$9.29	$10.22	$19,320	$21,250
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders	$9.90	$11.06	$20,580	$23,000
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders	$10.55	$10.96	$21,940	$22,810

(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	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	4			6
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.6	(1) 2.6	(1) 3.0	2.5
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.2	(1) 1.3	(1) 1.5	1.1
Cases involving days away from work	0.6	(1) 0.4	(1) 0.7	0.6
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.5	(1) 0.9	(1) 0.8	0.6
Footnotes (1) Industry scope changed in 2009
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(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	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Producer price index	(P) 108.8	(P) 108.9	(P) 109.1	(P) 109.1
Percent change from previous month	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.2%	(P) 0.0%
Import index	110.3	110.5	(R) 110.6	110.5
Percent change from previous month	-0.5%	0.2%	(R) 0.1%	(R) -0.1%
Export index
Percent change from previous month
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	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry	7,319	(P) 7,122	(P) 7,217	(P) 7,276
Local government
State government	2	(P) 1	(P) 1	(P) 1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity


Data series	2008	2009	2010	2011
Labor productivity index, output per hour	58.941	54.003	57.014	57.556
Percent change from previous year	-12.6	-8.4	5.6	1.0
Labor index, total labor hours	58.171	49.873	48.021	46.255
Percent change from previous year	-12.6	-14.3	-3.7	-3.7
Output index	34.287	26.932	27.378	26.623
Percent change from previous year	-23.6	-21.5	1.7	-2.8
Unit labor costs index	166.886	163.984	153.148	152.336
Percent change from previous year	18.4	-1.7	-6.6	-0.5