Manufacturing sector contributes more than the sum of its part, note EEF/Santander

In the latest annual snapshot of the manufacturing industry — published by the manufacturers’ organisation, EEF, and Santander — it has been shown that the sector contributes more than just the sum of its part.

‘UK Manufacturing: 2018/19 The Facts’ demonstrates that the continuing myth of manufacturing jobs being poorly paid is unfounded with the average salary in the sector being around £32.5k — compared with £29k for the economy overall and £28.3k for services. Additionally, each sub-sector of manufacturing had higher average salaries than the services (apart from food and drink).

The survey also demonstrated a shift in sub-sector mix with transport taking the spot from the chemicals/pharmaceuticals sector on research and development.

Regionally speaking, the survey showed that the average salary for manufacturing jobs is higher than for the regional economy average in every part of the UK apart from London where the City dominates.

“Our latest data continue to show that UK manufacturing punches above its weight in some vital areas of the economy and contributes more than the sum of its parts,” commented Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF. “This is reflected regionally, in productivity and pay levels, for millions of people working in the sector.

“It provides an important reminder that we’re still one of the top ten biggest manufacturing nations and we want to see policy makers working with industry to help move UK manufacturing up the rankings.”

“The research reinforces how important the manufacturing sector is to the UK and demonstrates that Britain is at the forefront of technological change,” added Paul Brooks, UK head of manufacturing, Santander Corporate & Commercial. “UK is a strong exporter of goods with nearly half of all our international trade generated by the manufacturing sector. We are also delighted to see manufacturing output spread regionally across the UK with a thriving North West. Santander is committed to supporting British companies expand internationally and the manufacturing sector has a number of opportunities for growth both at home and abroad.”

Export performance was found to remain solid in further analysis in the fact card, with manufacturing accounting for nearly half of UK exports (45%). The US is the single biggest destination for manufactured exports, but the EU still holds importance with seven of the top ten destinations for UK exports being located there. This, according to EEF, highlights the need to ensure there is minimal disruption to trade with the EU post-Brexit.

Looking at the regions in more detail, it was found that the North West has the largest output and has also witnessed the biggest growth in output since the last fact card (2017/2018). The West Midlands also saw significant output growth over the same period