The textile industry in Alabama isn't what it used to be, but Ammie Jones and her friends at American Apparel are counting their blessings this Christmas Day.

That's because they have steady jobs at a time when thousands of other seamstresses, sewing machine mechanics and others involved in textiles across the state have lost their jobs as corporate executives move their operations to offshore locations.

Some of the hardest hit counties are in Alabama's already depressed Black Belt region, where the jobless rate tops 20 percent at times.

The unemployment level might have dropped in recent months, but people in Dallas, Perry, Wilcox and other Black Belt counties are still suffering.

That's why those who have jobs are so thankful on this most important of holidays and direct their appreciation toward Jim Hodo and Roy Ezell -- two of American Apparel's top executives in Selma.

They give the credit to the women who make uniforms for America's armed forces, but the seamstresses, in turn, view them as their personal Santas.