Dark times ahead for manufacturing

WHILE the aftermath of the recession may leave the North East in a stronger position nationally, there could still be dark times ahead in the meantime.

A report yesterday said that manufacturers will shed more than 350,000 jobs between now and mid-2010 as the economic crisis grips the UK’s industrial heartland.

Information company Experian said the worst fall-out from the recession would be felt in the Midlands and the north of England, where there is a greater proportion of unskilled labour in lower-paid manufacturing jobs.

Experian said the North East has seen 6% of its manufacturing companies disappear since July 2007, although it points out that overall business failures for the UK are still a third of the level seen during the recession in 1991.

Charlotte Hogg, Experian UK’s managing director, said: "Contrary to what some people initially thought, our analysis shows that this is certainly not going to be solely a middle-class recession.

"Whilst the epicentre was in London and the South East, the biggest aftershocks are being felt in the UK’s traditional industrial heartlands – where businesses and communities are not necessarily as well equipped to handle its effects and bounce back to recovery."