US Fashion Firms Plan Broad Hiring Through 2031, but Just 10.5% Eye US-Made Sourcing

US Fashion Firms Keep Hiring — but Not for Domestic Factories

Nearly nine in ten US fashion companies expect to expand their workforces through 2031, according to a new survey from the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA). Yet the same survey found that only 10.5% of respondents regard sourcing more US-made textiles and apparel as a meaningful response to tariffs. The contrast is the clearest signal yet of how the industry intends to navigate trade pressure: by adding specialised corporate talent, not by rebuilding domestic production.

Recruitment intentions are led by data scientists, followed by trade-compliance specialists and environmental-sustainability professionals. Sewing-machine operators were also cited at a survey record, but the USFIA linked that demand mainly to product development, repairs and circular services rather than mass garment assembly.

Separate data from TexPro, cited in the report, shows offshore diversification continuing while US apparel-manufacturing employment fell year on year. Taken together, the numbers describe an industry that is confident about hiring overall — just not for factory floors.

Why the Hiring Mix Shows Reshoring Remains a Sideshow

The 87%-vs-10.5% Gap: Capabilities, Not Geography

The gap between the 87% of companies planning hiring and the 10.5% that see US-made sourcing as a tariff response suggests the industry is choosing to manage trade uncertainty with people, not plant. Investment in trade-compliance specialists and data scientists points to a strategy of navigating tariffs through rules-of-origin planning, customs management and supply-chain analytics, rather than relocating production.

Data and Compliance Roles: The New Front Line of Trade Policy

It is a reasonable reading that tariff volatility and tighter rules of origin have made trade compliance a core corporate function, while reporting requirements and supply-chain transparency drive demand for data scientists. These roles let companies squeeze cost and risk out of complex offshore networks — the practical alternative to the costlier task of reshoring. This interpretation is drawn from the survey's hiring mix and the tariff context; the USFIA report itself does not spell out the rationale for each role.

Sewing-Operator Demand: A Circular-Services Signal

The record citation of sewing-machine operators looks, at first glance, like a manufacturing revival. The USFIA's own framing contradicts that: demand is tied to product development, repairs and circular services. That is consistent with growing resale, repair and extended-producer-responsibility pressures, and it suggests the operators being hired will work on sampling, alterations and refurbishment — not high-volume cut-and-sew lines.

What TexPro Adds: Diversification Continues

TexPro's data on declining US apparel-manufacturing employment, set against continued offshore diversification, reinforces the conclusion that reshoring remains marginal in this cycle. The practical winners are offshore sourcing hubs and providers of compliance, data and circular-economy services; the losers are US-based mass garment assembly and its workforce.

What the Survey Means for Executives, Workers and Policymakers

• For apparel executives: with 87% of surveyed firms planning hiring through 2031 but only 10.5% backing US-made sourcing, allocate headcount toward trade-compliance and supply-chain data roles — that is where the survey shows the industry's tariff response is actually being built.
• For investors: monitor whether sourcing portfolios keep diversifying offshore, since TexPro data shows US manufacturing employment still falling; treat circular-services and repair capability as a growing investment theme, not a manufacturing rebound.
• For policymakers: the 10.5% figure is a reality check for reshoring incentives — expect employment gains in data, compliance and services rather than in sewing factories over the next five years.