UK Regions and Nations see manufacturing jobs boost

03 July, 2023

The South West saw the second highest increase, a further 28,000 jobs bringing the total to 249,000, 8% of the region’s workforce. This was closely followed by the East of England, adding 27,000 jobs bringing the total to 228,000, 7% of the region’s workforce. The East and West Midlands, together with London and the South East, Wales and Northern Ireland also saw increases in the number of manufacturing jobs.

The report also highlights the importance of manufacturing and jobs to so-called ‘red wall’ areas where the sector occupies a substantially higher than average contribution to the regional economy. The average regional share of manufacturing nationally in the UK (2) is just under 10% (9.8%), whereas in Wales the sector accounts for almost a fifth of the economy (17.3%), whilst it is also substantially above the average as a share of the economy in the East Midlands (16.4%), Yorkshire & Humber (15.4%), North East (15%), West Midlands (14.4%) and the North West (14%).

However, as well as highlighting the strengths of manufacturing across regions and nations, the report also shows the challenges which still remain for levelling up and, the implications for policies to promote it. According to the most up to date official data available on regional manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA) (3) all regions and nations, apart from the West Midlands, had recovered to pre-pandemic levels of output by 2021.

But, while the percentage increases in GVA among the majority of regions and nations were in low single figures, London and the South East had increased its GVA in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels by almost a fifth (19%).

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