Further job cuts in manufacturing

DESPITE increasing order books for a fifth month in a row, Irish manufacturers cut jobs for the second month in a row, the NCB Purchasing Manager’s Index shows.

The January PMI shows a slight fall to 52.2 from the December level of 52.6. The PMI broke above the 50 expansion/contraction threshold between August and October of last year. Since then the index has been holding at a level where it indicates there has been no acceleration in the rate of growth.

Meanwhile, European manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in three years in January as economic growth in the US and Asia drives export demand, outweighing the euro's climb against the dollar.