Fashion Industry Statistics 2012
If you are wondering why we are posting about stats from
2012, the reason is that 2013 is not yet complete. Actually, much of the data that you find
below is from prior to the completion of 2012.
Although the research data is slightly dated, we thought that it would
be a helpful resources to members of our industry.
Throughout history, fashion has greatly influenced the
“fabric” of societies all over the world. What people wear often characterizes
who they are and what they do for a living. As Mark Twain once wrote, “Clothes
make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
The fashion industry is a global industry, where fashion
designers, manufacturers, merchandisers, and retailers from all over the world
collaborate to design, manufacture, and sell clothing, shoes, and accessories.
The industry is characterized by short product life cycles, erratic consumer
demand, an abundance of product variety, and complex supply chains.
In this Spotlight, we (when we say “we” we mean the Bureau of Labor Statistics) take a look at the fashion industry's
supply chain—including import and producer prices, employment in the apparel
manufacturing and fashion-related wholesale and retail trade industries, labor
productivity in the manufacturing sector and in selected textile and apparel
industries, and consumer prices and expenditures on apparel-related items.
How Much Do Consumers
Spend on Apparel?
In 2010, households spent, on average, $1,700 (in nominal
terms) on apparel, footwear, and related products and services—3.5 percent of
average annual expenditures. Since 1985, as a percentage of total apparel
expenditures, households spent more, on average, on apparel designed for women
aged 16 and over than any other apparel product or service.
Employment in Apparel
Manufacturing
Employment in the
apparel manufacturing industry has declined by more than 80 percent (from
about 900,000 to 150,000 jobs) over the past two decades. The decline has been
proportional throughout the apparel manufacturing component industries.
Wholesale and Retail
Trade Employment
From 1990 to 2011, within the wholesale trade industry,
employment in industries such as jewelry and women's and children's clothing
experienced little or no change. However, over that period, employment in the
men's and boy's clothing industry decreased 17.5 percent—from 32,000 jobs in
1990 to 26,400 jobs in 2011.
Within the retail trade industry, employment in men's and
women's clothing stores, shoe stores, and jewelry, luggage, and leather goods
stores decreased from 1990 to 2011. In contrast, industries such as children's
and infant's clothing (118.6 percent), cosmetic and beauty supply stores (82.3
percent), family clothing (63.2 percent), and clothing accessories stores (57.0
percent) all experienced an increase in employment from 1990 to 2011. From 1990
to 2007, employment in family clothing stores increased from 273,700 jobs to
539,800 jobs, or 97.2 percent. Since 2007, the family clothing stores industry
has lost 93,100 jobs, or 17.2 percent.
Fashion Designers by
Location
Among all states, California had the highest concentration
of fashion designers. In general,
location quotients are ratios that compare the concentration of a resource or
activity, such as employment, in a defined area to that of a larger area or
base. For example, location quotients can be used to compare State employment
by occupation to that of the nation.
Fashion Designers –
Employment
Fashion designers create original or exclusive custom-fitted
clothing (e.g. haute couture), accessories, and footwear. In doing so, they
must know how to sketch designs, select fabrics and patterns, and give
instructions on how to make the products they design. Fashion designers work in
wholesale or manufacturing establishments, apparel companies, retailers,
theater or dance companies, and design firms.
Within the United States, most fashion designers work in
large cities, such as New
York or Los Angeles. In May 2010,
almost 75 percent of all salaried fashion designers worked in New York and
California. California led the nation, with a total of 4,480 employed fashion
designers.
Fashion Designers -
Annual Mean Wage
Across the country, the mean annual wage earned by fashion
designers ranged from $44,100 for those employed in Virginia to $80,650 for
those employed in Maine and New York.
Fashion-related
Occupations: Employment Outlook
In 2010, earnings in many occupations associated with
apparel manufacturing were typically lower than the average for all occupations
($45,230). Among these occupations, fabric and apparel patternmakers—who use
computer-aided design (CAD) software to determine the best layout of pattern
pieces to minimize waste of material and to create a master pattern for each
size within a range of garment sizes—earned an annual mean wage of $44,650.
There were a total of 6,410 fabric and apparel patternmakers employed in 2010.
Occupations such as textile and garment pressers, sewing machine operators,
hand sewers, shoe and leather workers and repairers, and textile bleaching and dyeing
machine operators and tenders earned a mean annual wage that was more than
$15,000 below the average for all occupations. In 2010, sewing machine
operators, with 142,860 workers, was the largest of these occupations.
Fashion designers earned an annual mean wage of $73,930 in
2010, over $25,000 more than the average for all occupations. There were a
total of 16,010 fashion designers employed in 2010.
Fashion-related
Occupations: Employment and Wages
In 2010, earnings in many occupations associated with
apparel manufacturing were typically lower than the average for all occupations
($45,230). Among these occupations, fabric and apparel patternmakers—who use
computer-aided design (CAD) software to determine the best layout of pattern
pieces to minimize waste of material and to create a master pattern for each
size within a range of garment sizes—earned an annual mean wage of $44,650.
There were a total of 6,410 fabric and apparel patternmakers employed in 2010.
Occupations such as textile and garment pressers, sewing machine operators,
hand sewers, shoe and leather workers and repairers, and textile bleaching and
dyeing machine operators and tenders earned a mean annual wage that was more
than $15,000 below the average for all occupations. In 2010, sewing machine
operators, with 142,860 workers, was the largest of these occupations.
Fashion designers earned an annual mean wage of $73,930 in
2010, over $25,000 more than the average for all occupations. There were a
total of 16,010 fashion designers employed in 2010.
Mass Layoffs
From 1996 to 2011, the U.S. apparel manufacturing industry
experienced many job losses—averaging 323 mass layoff events per year. During
that period, the largest number of mass layoff events occurred in 1996, when
the apparel manufacturing industry initiated a total of 706—leading to the
filing of 67,511 initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits.
From 1996 to 2011, textile mills averaged a total of 200
mass layoff events per year, while leather and allied product manufacturers
averaged 54 events per year. In 1996, apparel, textile mill, and leather and
allied product manufacturers initiated a total of 1,040 mass layoff
events—representing 7.1 percent of all mass layoff events in nonfarm
establishments.
A mass layoff event occurs when fifty or more initial claims
for unemployment insurance benefits are filed against an employer during a 5-week
period, regardless of the duration of the layoff.
Where in the United
States is Apparel Made?
The apparel
manufacturing industry includes a diverse range of establishments
manufacturing full lines of ready-to-wear and custom apparel; apparel
contractors, performing cutting or sewing operations on materials owned by
others; and tailors, manufacturing custom garments for individual clients.
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 the apparel manufacturing industry.
In 2010, there were 7,855 private business establishments in
the apparel manufacturing industry, employing 157,587 workers—compared with
15,478 establishments and 426,027 workers in 2001. In 2010, only two U.S.
counties had more than 500 business establishments—Los Angeles county,
California (2,509) and New York county, New York (803).
Establishment Size –
Manufacturing
The average size of establishments (the number of employees
at a typical workplace such as a factory or store) has declined in most apparel
manufacturing industries in recent years, while it generally remained little
changed in fashion-related retail trade industries.
In apparel manufacturing, the average number of employees
per establishment declined from 28 to 20 over the 2001–2010 period, though it
stayed about the same in women's and girls' cut and sew apparel manufacturing.
Apparel Manufacturing
Productivity - Output Per Hour
Productivity, a key measure of efficiency, is the amount of
output produced per hour of work. Labor productivity in the U.S. manufacturing
sector more than doubled from 1987 to 2010. Labor productivity also more than
doubled over that period in U.S. textile mills and nearly doubled in footwear
manufacturing. Labor productivity in apparel manufacturing followed a different
pattern; it grew at about the same rate as overall manufacturing productivity
from 1987 to 2000 but generally declined from 2000 to 2010.
Manufacturing Productivity
- Real Output
U.S. manufacturing output was nearly 50 percent higher in
2010 than in 1987 after adjusting for inflation, but real output in U.S.
textile, apparel, and footwear manufacturing, declined substantially over the
1987–2010 period.
Manufacturing Productivity
– Hours
The number of hours that U.S. manufacturing employees worked
remained fairly steady from 1987 to 2000 and then declined by about one-third
between 2000 and 2010. Hours worked in U.S. textile, apparel, and footwear
manufacturing declined nearly continuously and much more sharply than overall
manufacturing hours during the 1987–2010 period.
Clothing Factory
Manufacturing Productivity - Unit Labor Costs
Unit labor costs describe the relationship between
compensation and labor productivity. Increases in hourly compensation increase
unit labor costs; increases in labor productivity lower unit labor costs. Unit
labor costs in U.S. manufacturing have held fairly steady since the late 1980s,
meaning that manufacturers generally have been able to offset increases in
compensation costs with improved efficiency. Unit labor costs for U.S. textile
manufacturers also have held fairly steady since the late 1980s, but unit labor
costs in U.S. apparel and footwear manufacturing were substantially higher in
2010 than in 1987.
Injury and Illness
Rates
A comparison of fashion-related industries shows that the
rate of injuries varied among industries in 2010. Employees in thread mills
had a higher than average injury rate of 6.7 per 100 full-time workers, whereas
employees in yarn texturizing, throwing, and twisting thread mills suffered
fewer injuries and illnesses at 1.8 percent.
In apparel manufacturing, the injury and illness rates in
glove and mitten manufacturing, at 8.8 percent, was the highest of all measured
occupations related to the fashion industry. Men’s footwear (except athletic)
manufacturing had a rate of 7.6 percent, compared with other footwear
manufacturing at 3.6 percent.
This is an interactive chart. Click on the columns to go
deeper into the category.
Establishment Size -
Retail Trade
The average number of employees per establishment in clothing stores stayed near 13
during the 2001–2010 periods, though it decreased from 25 to 21 in family
clothing stores.
Consumer Prices in
the Apparel Industry
The Consumer Price Index for all items has risen at a much
steeper rate than the indexes for apparel and shoes since 1978. Prices for
apparel rose 62 percent from 1978 to 1998, declined somewhat through 2005, and
have been fairly steady in recent years. Prices for footwear followed a similar
pattern as apparel from 1978 to 2004, and footwear prices have increased
somewhat more rapidly since 2004.
Consumer prices for men’s and boys’ apparel rose at somewhat
faster rate than prices for women’s and girls’ apparel from 1978 to 1998.
Prices for both categories declined somewhat through 2007 before leveling off
in recent years. Prices for men’s and women’s footwear followed similar
patterns as prices for apparel.
Consumer prices for infants’ and toddlers’ apparel rose
about 69 percent from 1978 to 2000 and have generally declined since then.
Producer Prices in
Apparel-related Industries
When shopping for clothing, shoes, and accessories in retail
stores or over the Internet, a consumer’s first thought about price is most
likely not about the price exchange that occurs before the item is available at
the retail level, although that transaction heavily influences the price the
consumer sees. While producer prices for selected fashion-related industries
have trended higher since December 2003, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for
fabric mills, a major component in textile-related production, increased
significantly from October 2010 until September 2011. In comparison, producer
price increases for other industries such as footwear manufacturing and for
accessories and other apparel were more muted until December 2011, when their
rates of increase started to accelerate.
Import Prices in
Apparel-related Industries
Have you ever wondered about the journey your clothes,
shoes, and accessories traveled before these items found a home in your closet?
Chances are your wardrobe includes many import components from across the
globe. From December 2010 to February 2011, import prices for fabric mill
products increased sharply and have continued to increase. Import prices for
apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing were higher than footwear
manufacturing from September 2007 until October 2011, when footwear prices
overtook apparel accessories and other apparel and have remained steady.
Compensation for U.S.
and Foreign Apparel Manufacturers
In 2007, among those countries studied by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Germany had the highest hourly compensation costs within the
apparel manufacturing industry. The Philippines, with compensation costs at 88
cents per hour, had the lowest among those countries studied.
From 2006 to 2007, with the exception of Taiwan and Japan,
hourly compensation costs increased in all countries studied—including the
United States. From 2002 to 2007, Argentina and Australia experienced the
largest increase in hourly compensation costs—increasing 154 percent. Over that
period, Japan experienced the smallest increase in hourly compensation
costs—from $11.77 per hour to $12.70 per hour, or 8 percent. Compensation costs
for the United States increased from $15.37 per hour to $20.42 per hour, or 33
percent.
The information above
was retrieved from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States. The Apparel Search Company has made slight
modification to category titles and arrangements of the data. We have not altered any of the statistical
findings. We have also included
additional links to various related online fashion industry resources. Please check with the BLS websites for
updates, revisions, additions, etc. You
can view graphics and charts about the above mentioned data at the apparel industry statistics
spotlight section on the BLS site.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market
activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is
to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support
public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS
serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are
objective, timely, accurate, and relevant.
If you have comments or questions regarding the
data above, you are welcome to post comments or questions in the discussion
area below. We would be happy to hear
your thoughts. If you know other
resources that provide helpful data regarding the garment or textile industry,
you are welcome to provide links to those resources.
