Sponsored by Digital Look Events

Manufacturers set to axe 18,000

News for Spread Betters

PreviousPrevious
NextNext

There's a new Investor Edition of CMC Markets' spread betting platform... and it's exclusive to DigitalLook.com users...

Get full details about Marketmaker:Investor Edition here. Advertisement

Date: Tuesday 06 May 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - Around 18,000 manufacturing jobs are likely to go in the second quarter as the credit crisis slams confidence across most of the UK, a new report predicts today.

The latest Regional Trends Survey from business lobby group the CBI revealed the job cuts are likely to be most severe in the South East & London where 5,000 will face the axe.

It reckons the largest percentage fall, around 1.2%, will be in the South West, while 3,000 jobs are forecast to disappear in the East of England.

Spending on buildings and plant & machinery is also set to suffer over the next 12 months, with Northern Ireland and the South West expected to be hardest hit.

"The slowdown underway in other parts of the economy is now being felt in the manufacturing sector. Look under the bonnet, however, and you'll see some marked regional differences,” said the CBI’s Head of Economics Analysis, Lai Wah Co.

“Welsh firms actually feel extremely upbeat after a very strong quarter, whereas the story in the South is of falling demand, shrinking output and declining jobs.”

Peter Gutmann of Experian, which co-produced the report, said: "The survey suggests that the pound’s 14% depreciation against the euro over the past year is helping to support manufacturing exports, at a time when eurozone growth is faltering.”

“This is the one bright spot in a fairly downbeat picture. Without this boost, manufacturers would be facing even tougher conditions in the coming months."

The weaker pound helped exports in most regions, but manufacturers everywhere witnessed sharp rises in unit costs as energy and raw materials became more expensive over the past three months.