Industry Information
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear industry has been under intense pressure for many years. It has survived tariff reductions, skill shortages and relentless global competition but despite this it still employs 29,500 people.
Clothing manufacturing has the largest number of businesses in the industry however the number of businesses has decreased by 29% (1,352 businesses) since 2009. New South Wales had the most number of textiles, clothing and footware manufacturing businesses (2,315), down from 2,949 in 2009.
In 2015, micro and small businesses (that is with less than 20 employees) dominate the industry with over 95% of businesses this category. Only nine businesses employed 200+ people and they were located in New South Wales and Victoria.
Traineeship and apprenticeship commencements in this industry are modest.