Manufacturing jobs hit five-year low

INDUSTRIAL employment has plunged to its lowest level in over five years as the high-technology sector suffers badly, shock new figures disclose.

This follows the seasonally adjusted loss of 3,100 jobs in the first three months of 2003, cutting the total number of manufacturing jobs to 248,500, a level not seen since early 1997.

Employment gains made during the boom years have been almost wiped out at this stage, analysts said.

The employers’ body IBEC reacted strongly to the figures, warning that unless wage demands are pulled back, the figures will continue to rocket.

Since 2001, the manufacturing sector has been losing jobs at an alarming rate.

By March 2002, the decline in jobs was running at the rate of 4% a year.

But the latest Central Statistic Office figures show the rate of decline accelerating, IBEC warned.

Seasonally adjusted, the rate of job losses in the year ending March increased to 6.2%, compared to 4% at the same time last year.

However, Davy Stockbrokers commented that the sector has seen a slowdown in the level of redundancies in April and May, suggesting losses may be easing.

Robbie Kelleher of Davys commented however that the high-technology sector was a cause for concern.

Job losses in the manufacture of office machinery and computers over the year to Q1 2003 reached 6,800.

Data from the PMI manufacturing survey, the European Commission business and consumer survey, and the IBEC/ESRI industrial survey show “the picture will remain quite bleak over the coming months,” said Mr Kelleher.

Another disturbing feature from the IBEC perspective is that the level of wage increases has eased back only marginally.

In fact, the latest CSO figures show that the annual increase in pay in manufacturing in the year to March 2003 has fallen only slightly, from 7.4% to 7%.

Aebhric McGibney, IBEC senior economist, said “the latest Eurostat data confirms that this level of wage growth is more than double the EU average.

If haemorrhaging of jobs is to stop then excessive wage growth must be curbed.”