Greece, apparel industry is wearing thin

The apparel sector in Greece posted the biggest contraction of all Greek industries in the January-July period, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and reported by daily Kathimerini. Total production went down by 38.2% year-on-year, after a 14.5% annual decline in the same period in 2011, a 36.9% drop in 2010 and a 14.9% slide in 2009. This adds up to a total output decline of 71.6% within four years. Across the whole industrial sector, the drop in output in the first seven months of 2012 came to 6.7% year-on-year. Employment in the apparel sector shrank by 1,606 jobs in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2011, the ELSTAT data also showed.