Textiles Careers Outlook
The textile and apparel industries are undergoing a period of major decline. The U.S. Department of Labor projects a 46 percent decrease in the number of jobs available in the textile mills and products industry through 2014. Factors contributing to the decline include increased worker productivity due to automation, fierce competition, mergers, and rising imports. When trade quotas were lifted in 2005, textile and apparel imports increased due to cheap labor markets in countries like China which make it difficult for U.S. firms to compete.
Openings in the textile industry will come about as older workers retire or change jobs. Some textile branches, such as producers of industrial carpets, fabrics, and specialty yarns, are highly automated and may remain competitive due to lower production costs coupled with specialized facilities. The U.S. remains the world leader in discovering new fibers and new uses for high-tech textiles, indicating that jobs may be available for textile scientists and researchers. New jobs in apparel business will open mainly as current workers leave the field.
The North American Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing of the World Trade Organization will continue to open export markets for textiles produced in the United States, but at the expense of American jobs, particularly low-skill, low-wage jobs. There is a general nervousness and pessimism in the textile industry surrounding the WTO agreement, and workers face job insecurity. Some positive effects of NAFTA include easier imports to Canada and Mexico, which account for 50 percent of U.S. textile exports and the retention of high-tech, computer-oriented, and science-related jobs in the United States, though it is not clear that this successfully balances out the massive job loss.
The textile industry continues to create new products and expand its client base by supplementing other industries. Recent developments include producing materials for highway construction, erosion control, and space exploration. New methods of spinning, new weaving machines, better printing processes, and increased adaptation of computers to manufacturing operations have made the U.S. textile industry one of the most efficient and productive in the world. As new machines and methods are developed and put into place, technical jobs will increase, but machine operating jobs will decrease. Computers have also improved the marketing aspects of the textile industry. Computer programs have created efficient electronic linkages among manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. These programs shorten the response time between the demand for products and the supply of them, saving time and money.
Recent concerns for the environment have led to efforts to reduce the amount of pollution generated by manufacturing plants. For the textile industry, environmental awareness can mean such steps as changing ingredients in dyes, building a water purification system, making a financial contribution for the construction of a municipal waste-treatment facility, or studying the recycling of liquids. In the future, there will be an increased demand for people who are trained to protect the natural environment, such as chemists, chemical laboratory technicians, environmental law specialists, environmental engineers, and other specialists.
For More Information:
- American Apparel and Footwear Association
- American Fiber Manufacturers Association
- American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
- Institute of Textile Technology
- National Council of Textile Organizations
Related Career Fields:
- Chemistry Career Field
- Fashion Career Field
- Home Furnishing Career Field
- Machining and Machinery Career Field
- Manufacturing Career Field
Related Careers:
- Apparel Industry Workers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemical Technicians
- Chemists
- Conservators and Conservation Technicians
- Fashion Designers
- Industrial Engineering Technicians
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics
- Interior Designers and Decorators
- Knit Goods Industry Workers
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Museum Technicians
- Precision Machinists
- Purchasing Agents
- Tailors and Dressmakers
- Textile Manufacturing Workers
- Textile Technicians