Employers’ concern as production down

INDUSTRIAL production fell a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in volume in the three months to April compared to the previous three months, provisional data showed yesterday.

That compared to a 0.1 % quarter-on-quarter rise in the first three months of the year.

Irish employers expressed concern during national wage talks, currently underway, about declining manufacturing production in

Ireland and the possibility of above-inflation pay increases further eroding competitiveness in that sector.

On a monthly basis, manufacturing output rose a seasonally-adjusted 8.6% in April versus a 9% rise in March. The volatile nature of the monthly data means economists tend to compare three-month periods.

Year-on-year growth in production in manufacturing industries was 11% in April compared to a year-on-year rise of 4.9% in March and a growth rate of 3.1% in 2005 as a whole.

The ‘Modern Sector’, comprising a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed an annual increase in production of 12.2% in April, while an increase of 6.9% was recorded in the ‘Traditional’ sector.

The seasonally adjusted industrial turnover for manufacturing industries was 3% lower in the three-month period, February to April 2006, when compared with the preceding three-month period.

On an annual basis, turnover in April 2006 was 8.1% higher than in April 2005.

Additional reporting Reuters.