"First of all I think unfortunately the job cuts are going to continue," says Dr. Walden, an economist with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. "It’s simply much cheaper to make a lot of textile and furniture products overseas where labor costs especially are lower and shipment costs are very negligible today with modern shipping techniques.

"So if these industries are going to survive, they must change. And indeed they are changing," he adds. "For example, the modern North Carolina furniture manufacturing company knows it cannot compete on mass produced furniture so what it’s doing is emphasizing customer service; it’s emphasizing specialty and customized furniture. Those are going to be smaller markets, but they are viable markets.

"Textiles, the same way –- as well as there is a renewed focus in textiles on non-apparel textiles for industrial and commercial use," Walden says.

"So I think these industries will survive, but they will be smaller and they will have a different focus."