Although these gains were undercut by international competition, the apparel sector in 2008 made up two-thirds of Haiti's annual 490 million US dollars exports.

In China, foreign investment in the apparel sector has lowered wages and working standards.

Jordan has witnessed impressive economic growth during the past five years, and much of that growth has come in the apparel sector.

Like other apparel sectors, hat and cap makers have long been under pressure from imports.

The region's once-flourishing apparel sector has been hard hit, officials say.

Among women in the apparel sector, the unemployment rate is now more than 33 percent.

In the apparel sector, the biggest winners were Pacific Sunwear, up 11.7 percent; that was 8.2 percentage points above expectations, according to Thomson First Call.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, seeking to attract outside business to his country, has his eye on the American apparel sector.

This may be evidence of a coming recovery in the apparel sector or simply an indication of the lower elasticity of demand for women's apparel than for men's.

The overwhelming majority of factories the FLA audits are in the apparel sector (approximately 75%), followed by footwear, equipment, and accessories.