 ONS data highlights the rate of decline in manufacturing |
Employment in the manufacturing sector has fallen by 16% over the last five years, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Job numbers have fallen to 3.5 million from 4.2 million in 1998, backing up union warnings that the sector is in crisis.
Derek Simpson, general secretary of the Amicus trade union, said: "Not only are 10-12,000 manufacturing jobs being lost every week in the UK but they are being replaced by low-skilled, low-paid and insecure jobs.
"These statistics are devastating, not only for the individuals and families affected, but for the entire UK economy in the longer term."
Staff cutbacks
The sector accounted for 17% of all jobs in the spring of 1998, but that figure had dropped to 14% by this year, the ONS said.
The textiles and leather industries have suffered the biggest cutbacks over the past few years, with employment slashed by about half.
Other sectors that have faced job cuts include transport equipment, electrical and optical equipment, metals, chemicals, paper and printing.
Around 2.6 million men have jobs with manufacturing firms, compared with just under a million women.
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