Manufacturing Jobs Halved Since Records Began

1.45.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 6th Jul 2004

The Government is presiding over the worst ever decline in manufacturing, according to official figures released by the Liberal Democrats today. The news comes as a Trade Union Congress report says that 750,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since Labour came to power.

According to official figures out today manufacturing jobs have hit the lowest point since records began in 1978. Today's figures from the Office for National Statistics show that manufacturing jobs have halved since 1978. (From 6,892,000 manufacturing jobs in 1978 to 3,371,000 in 2004).

Paul Holmes MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Work, said: "For all the Government's crowing on employment, the manufacturing industry in Britain is collapsing.

"A recent Sheffield University survey has also confirmed Lib Dem warnings that the North/South divide is not only real, but getting worse.

"More must be done to help the real economy of our towns and rural areas. Small-scale factory closures can have the same detrimental effect on the local community as the high-profile collapses that make news headlines.

"While manufacturing jobs haemorrhage, Gordon Brown twiddles his thumbs."