A report released this week unveils the true extent of the manufacturing industry’s influence on the UK economy.
The report, titled ‘The True Impact of UK Manufacturing’ and jointly conducted by Oxford Economics and the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), presents convincing insights into the industry’s pivotal role – something the Lancashire business community is already well-versed in.
The county’s rich saturation of advanced manufacturing in areas such as aerospace, defence and engineering holds unique weight in the report’s findings.
Key outcomes from the report reveal that the manufacturing sector contributes a staggering £518 billion to the economy, directly supporting 7.3 million jobs across varying supply chains and localities, representing a remarkable 23% of the total GDP.
The study also sheds light on the sector’s global significance, with ‘making things’ highlighted as constituting 34.5% of all UK goods and services exports. Additionally, the median wage within the manufacturing industry stands at £31,300, marking an 11% increase compared to the national.
Miranda Barker OBE, Chief Executive Officer at East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, commented:
“East Lancashire leads in the manufacturing of product across so many sectors – from auto and aero to health, nuclear and low carbon – innovating, building them and then exporting them to the world.
“It’s great to see in this report, recognition for the economic significance of that manufacturing – the Lancashire manufacturing sector filled the treasury coffers to fund furlough, in the teeth of the covid crisis, and then buoyed our East Lancashire towns to a faster covid recovery.
“What we need now is a real UK industrial strategy and investment from government to lever in private sector monies, to fuel that aspiration to innovate and manufacture – for the good not just of the Lancashire economy, but for the whole country.”
The report underscores the indispensable role of manufacturing in driving economic growth and fostering job creation, hailing the industry as ‘an integral part of the economy’.
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