11/11/2019
Commenting on today’s GDP data, Seamus Nevin, Chief Economist at Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, said:
“The seemingly never-ending uncertainties surrounding Brexit, now compounded by electoral uncertainty, have weighed heavily on manufacturing with companies scaling back output due to a lack of new orders, particularly from the domestic market.
“While the economy overall has seen a slight pick-up it has been led by the services industry with only the bounce back in car manufacturing offering some positive impact following April shutdowns. Compounding this is the seventh consecutive month of job losses, with the rate of decline at its fastest for the past decade.
“With yet another extension of the Brexit deadline, there is little prospect of the sun peeking through the clouds for manufacturers anytime soon. Their paralysis is evident in a lack of business spending and the sector is longing to get back to even a semblance of normality.”