More finding jobs in manufacturing

Aug 19 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

DECADES of decline in the number of jobs in North East manufacturing appear to have stalled with employment now higher than two years ago.

Manufacturing was once seen as the bedrock of the region’s economy and new figures obtained by nebusiness.co.uk show a resurgence with 159,800 people employed in the sector at the end of last year – 4.4% more than the 153,000 employed at the end of 2005.

Over the same two years employment levels in the UK manufacturing sector fell by 5% to 3.17m.

The figures reflect the optimism felt by regional manufacturers highlighted in a recent report.

Alan Hall, Northern director of the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF), said: “This rise in employment levels reflects the resurgence and success of manufacturing in our region.

“The North East has always been a hotbed for manufacturing and its still viewed as such, although the shape and colour of the sector has changed quite dramatically over the last 10 years.

“We have companies in the automotive, defence, oil and gas and aerospace sectors who are now world leaders.

“We no longer have the huge fabrication projects the region was once famous for. The technology has moved on and many of our companies are at the forefront of these technological advances.”

During its heyday of steelmaking and shipbuilding in the 1970s the North East employed over 450,000 people but with the decline in those industries there were less than half that number at the turn of the century.

A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said a three-year run of expansion in UK manufacturing production came to an end in May.

And the Office for National Statistics said manufacturers’ output – or selling – prices jumped 0.4% in July to hit an annual inflation rate of 10.2%.

Mr Hall said: “North East exports are at record levels and many of the region’s manufacturers are well-placed to ride out the economic storm and come out of it even stronger.”

A recent survey from EEF and accountants Grant Thornton showed North East manufacturing sector were reporting record levels of activity, higher than any other region in the country. In the second quarter North East firms were reporting a rise in output of 16% on first quarter of 2008, with orders in the North East up 13% over the same period and were revising their growth predictions upwards for 2008. And annual exports from the North East have just had surpassed £10bn for the first time, rising by over £1bn in a year.

One NorthEast’s director for business and industry, Ian Williams, said: “Clearly, as in all regions, businesses here are feeling the effects of the global slowdown. However, there are still signs of greater optimism in the North East, with one in five manufacturers here telling the latest National Business Survey – one of the biggest of its kind – that they believe conditions will improve over the next year, compared to one in 10 nationally.”

PAGE TWO: More on the success of the region's oil and gas, automotive, aerospace and defence sectors.