WASHINGTON - The U.S. Labor Department today released a report on the textile and apparel industries.

The study, titled, "The Past, Present and Future of Employment in the Textile and Apparel Industries: An Overview," includes a comprehensive report on the many training and other programs available to textile and apparel workers, as well as a review of how the industries are looking at new and innovative practices to stay competitive in the future. The report was requested by Congress.

"This report shows that there is an extensive workforce investment system in place that is helping many workers in the textile and apparel fields," said Emily Stover DeRocco, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "The report also points out that President Bush has proposed reforms to the system that would double the number of adults who receive job training through Workforce Investment Act grants."

Besides documenting the widely reported and long-term employment decline in the textile and apparel industries, the report points to the response to last year's layoffs at Pillowtex Corporation. It cites the Labor Department's efforts with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services and Treasury, along with the Small Business Administration and Social Security Administration, as "a blueprint for how federal programs can be used to assist transitioning workers."

The report concludes on an upbeat note. Textile and apparel companies rising to the competitive challenges by developing innovative fibers and fabrics and adopting cutting-edge production technology to cut costs and permit the production of high-tech products. Specific examples include nano-technology-based fabrics that dramatically improve stain resistance and breakthroughs that inhibit bacterial growth in fabrics.

"By developing and offering better and more technologically advanced products than anywhere else in the world, American firms should be able to expand into many new markets in the years to come," DeRocco said.

Download the report (PDF; 672 KB)