Annual UK contribution of manufacturing report highlights significance of devolved nations

24 July, 2024

The number of manufacturing jobs in Wales increased by 13,000, 10,000 in Scotland and 2,000 in Northern Ireland. By contrast, every English region saw a fall manufacturing jobs in the same period with the East of England being the only region showing a slight rise. This meant the sector saw an overall fall of 34,000 jobs in the twelve months to March. (1)

The increase in Scotland is likely to have been driven by the growth of renewables investment, especially offshore wind, while Wales has a significant supply chain in the Aerospace & Defence sectors which have seen strong growth in the last year. The Transport Equipment sector (mainly aerospace) accounts for 15.5% of manufacturing in Wales, the largest sector.

However, despite this fall, the pressure on finding skilled people is still severe as 64,000 vacancies remain in the sector, accounting for some £6bn in lost output according to Make UK analysis. (2) In response, Make UK is urging the new Government to make tackling skill shortages and reforming the technical education system the centrepiece of its industrial strategy.

The report also analyses the growth in output across each nation and region over the last decade, as well a comparison between pre and post-pandemic levels. It shows that, despite the challenges posed by Covid and Brexit, every English region bar one has shown double digit growth in Gross Value Added (GVA) since 2013. Yorkshire & Humber has seen the best growth in output in that period (40%), followed by the North East (30%), and South West (27%). This compares to the average growth in manufacturing GVA across the UK overall in the same period of around 23%. (3)

Furthermore, the report highlights the importance of manufacturing to regional economies with every area in the UK, except for the South East & London, seeing an above average contribution from manufacturing to its local economy.

For example, the North East may have the smallest share of overall manufacturing output in the UK, but industry accounts for almost 15% of the region’s total output. The East Midlands has the highest share of manufacturing in its regional economy at almost 16%, while the West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber have a significant contribution above the national average.

According to Make UK, this highlights the importance of the new Government’s industrial strategy to raising the performance of regional economies and, addressing inequality, given manufacturing jobs are better paid than the national average.

Overall, the report shows the importance of manufacturing to every region in the UK, an issue that a new industrial strategy will continue to promote.

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