New Delhi, Aug 3 - Though the overall economy has started showing signals of an early recovery, the country's textile sector, the second largest employment provider, is still struggling with the slowdown, an industry report said Monday.

The report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said decline in textile exports and massive layoffs in the industry were still continuing.

According to official data, the textile sector provides employment to about 91 million people, second highest figure after the agriculture sector, and contributes about 13 percent to the total export earning and 4 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP).

Releasing the study, 'India Textile Scenario', Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said about one million jobs were lost in last few months as orders from the recession-hit markets like Europe and the US fell.

Textile exports during April-March registered a decline of 1.71 percent to $21.75 billion as compared to $22.