Labour retention and costs among biggest challenges facing manufacturing sector

Chief executives in Ibec survey expressed a broadly positive outlook but 70% cited labour costs as their chief concern

70% of companies cited labour costs as their biggest issue this year followed closely by attracting and retaining staff cited by 65% of companies.

A large majority of manufacturing chief executives in Ireland have expressed a positive outlook for the months ahead — but challenges persist including labour costs and difficulty in attracting and retaining staff, a new report by business group Ibec has said.

According to the report, 67% of chief executives are optimistic about the manufacturing environment over the next six months, with 65% expressing confidence in their own business over the same timeframe.