Employment Confidence Continues In UK Manufacturing
Manufacturing in the UK contributes £6.7 trillion to the global economy, employs 2.7m people and contributes 10% to GDP. Employment in UK manufacturing has outperformed every country (except the US) for job creation since 2010.
The top UK manufacturing sector is Food and Drink at 17%, with chemicals and pharmaceuticals and transport sectors each accounting for 14%. London and the South East are the largest manufacturing regions, producing a yearly output of almost £28bn. However, the North West, West and East Midlands are all also key manufacturing centres, particularly in the Aerospace and Automotive sectors.
UK Manufacturing – A Buoyant Market – May 2017
Recent May 2017 surveys show that UK manufacturing has been experiencing strong growth;
“The manufacturing sector is acting as the primary driving force behind business confidence in the UK“ (2).
“Employment confidence remains positive with sectors like manufacturing and production proving particularly buoyant”, said Gerwyn Davies, a labour market adviser at the CIPD (3).
“The manufacturing sector that has recently been showing the most life in the UK economy, helped by a competitive pound and decent global growth” (4).
UK Manufacturing Exports Set To Soar
In the wake of the Brexit Referendum and the decision to leave the EU “the pound’s depreciation has boosted manufacturing” and “global growth combined with the weak pound is expected to send overseas sales soaring, giving businesses the confidence to ramp up investment Growth in world trade which has been in the doldrums for several years, is now stronger than at any time since the initial bounce-back from the recession in 2010.” (5)
However, to meet this forecasted increase in demand, “businesses will need to invest in export capacity and in UK supply chains to keep that growth going, as well as investing in skills to cope with fewer EU migrants post-Brexit” (5).
For example, in UK Manufacturing’s largest sector, Food and Drink, which employs 850,000 people, contributes £26.9bn to the UK economy and where two thirds of exports go to EU major players such as the 2 Sisters Food Group are investing heavily – in May 2017 the 2 Sisters Food Group announced it is investing £10m in technology and innovation at one of its facilities (6).
UK Manufacturing Vacancies On The Increase
Duncan Brock at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, said: “Spring has ushered in green shoots of growth with April marking the ninth consecutive increase in manufacturing employment”(7).
It is also estimated that by the year 2022 more than one million job vacancies will require manufacturing skills (8).
A May 2017 CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) survey of 1000 employers also found that found that 68% of UK businesses are planning to recruit in the next three months with almost half of vacancies in the manufacturing sector being for new, rather than existing, roles “reflecting optimism amongst employers”.(9)
UK Manufacturers Face Difficulties Filling Vacancies
The May 2017 CIP survey also found however that more than half of UK employers are currently experiencing difficulties filling vacancies and a number of key issues are likely to impact hiring in manufacturing in 2017 (10).
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Sources
- http://www.easier.com/136511-which-cities-in-the-uk-are-best-for-manufacturing-jobs.html
- http://www.bmmagazine.co.uk/news/manufacturing-hammers-new-highs-uk-business-confidence/
- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/15/jobs-market-will-suffer-a-brexit-slowdown-say-ey-item-club-experts
- https://www.ft.com/content/b17d2ab1-0a47-3020-8546-182cbef409b2
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/08/britain-set-export-boom-economists-hike-growth-forecasts/
- http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Regulation/What-a-Liberal-Democrat-victory-would-mean-for-food-manufacturing
- http://www.easier.com/136511-which-cities-in-the-uk-are-best-for-manufacturing-jobs.html
- http://www.thecsuite.co.uk/cfo/financial-planning-cfo/uk-manufacturing-growth-hits-three-year-high/
- http://www.thecsuite.co.uk/cfo/financial-planning-cfo/uk-manufacturing-growth-hits-three-year-high/
- http://www.thecsuite.co.uk/cfo/financial-planning-cfo/uk-manufacturing-growth-hits-three-year-high/
