Most of the 489,000 wage and salary workers employed in the textile mills and products industry in 2002 were found in southeastern States. North Carolina accounted for about 28 percent of textile jobs. South Carolina and Georgia combined to provide employment for another 29 percent of the workers in this industry. The remaining jobs primarily were found in other areas of the South, California, and the Northeast.
Most textile production is concentrated in large mills. In fact, establishments employing more than 50 persons accounted for almost 80 percent of all textile workers.