Exports are up, but Brexit could have a sting in the tail
MakeUK, the rebranded EEF and vocal supporter of the UK’s manufacturing sector, has published a new fact card providing details of the industry’s health – and very interesting reading it makes, too. Produced in association with Santander Corporate and Commercial, it highlights a sector that is running ahead of the wider economy in terms of productivity growth, and where average pay is also outpacing the whole economy. Productivity growth was 3.1% on average between 2012 and 2017 for manufacturing (although there are significant differences between different industries), compared with 2.4% for the services sector and 2.4% for the wider economy over the same period. Average pay within the manufacturing sector is now £32,467, some £3,358 higher than the whole economy and £4,188 higher than services. All manufacturing sub-sectors except food and drink have higher average wages than the service sector.
