14 Shocking Manufacturing Job Loss Statistics

1. 1.5 million workers in the UK could lose their jobs to automation.

(BBC)

Advances in artificial intelligence mean that a large number of jobs in the UK are at risk of automation, perhaps as high as 1.5 million according to estimates from the Office of National Statistics. 

What percentage of jobs have been lost to automation? Historically speaking, almost all. Two hundred years ago, more than 70 per cent of people in the UK were employed in agriculture and 33 per cent in manufacturing. Today, that figure is just 1.5 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. 

2. The UK shed 476,500 manufacturing jobs between 2008 and 2018.

(GMB)

How many manufacturing jobs have been lost? 

Data from GMB show that the UK lost more than 476,500 jobs between 2008 and 2019. In 2008, the UK economy supported more than 3.4 million jobs in the manufacturing sector. By 2018, that figure fell to 2.9 million.

3. Manufacturing jobs in the North West declined by 21.3 per cent.

(GMB) 

Deindustrialization in the UK is in full swing. UK manufacturing statistics show that outside London, the North West saw the biggest fall in manufacturing employment between 2008 and 2018, with a 21.3 per cent decline in available jobs in the sector. The North East saw manufacturing job losses of 15.9 per cent, and in the West Midlands, there were 32,300 manufacturing jobs lost. 

The causes of deindustrialisation in the UK include automation, a shift towards a service sector economy, and more production in the Far East, especially China. 

 4. London lost 71,400 of its 212,900 manufacturing jobs between 2008 and 2018.

(GMB)

Manufacturing jobs lost since 2000 is higher in London than any other region of the UK. The capital experienced a fall of more than 33 per cent in the number of manufacturing jobs since the turn of the decade. 

5. The UK manufacturing sector is the eighth largest in the world and will become the fifth largest by 2021.

(The Manufacturer)

Employment in the UK manufacturing sector is going down, but the total output is rising. The Manufacturer estimates that by 2021, the UK will have the fifth largest manufacturing sector in the world, up from eighth today, if current growth trends continue. Thus, the answer to the question “When did manufacturing decline in the UK?” is that it didn’t. The negative stories about the UK manufacturing sector mainly come from the number of job losses in the industry, not its size. 

6. 169,000 people work in automotive manufacturing in the UK, with a further 78,000 in the supply chain.

(The Manufacturer)

UK manufacturing sector employment statistics indicate that more than 169,000 people still work in the country’s car industry, despite losses in recent years. Car manufacturing job losses would have been higher, had it not been for the creation of more than 25,000 new jobs connected to the production of autonomous vehicle systems. 

7. 30,000 people in the UK still work in the steel industry.

(The Manufacturer)

UK manufacturing employment statistics show that steel still provides more than 30,000 jobs. But the value of the industry has fallen by around one quarter since the 1990s. Nonetheless, the steel industry adds more than £9.5 billion to the UK economy every year. 

8. The average manufacturing worker earns £32,500 per year.

(The Manufacturer)

Despite manufacturing sector statistics suggesting that employment in the sector is in chronic decline, manufacturing workers take home considerably more money than the average UK worker. Figures from Make UK indicate that wages average £32,500 per year, around 20% higher than the average for the rest of the country. 

9. £2.3 billion worth of wages never paid because of manufacturing jobs lost up to 2017.

(GMB)

The GMB Union estimates that UK manufacturing job losses have led to the loss of more than £2.3 billion worth of wages between 2007 and 2017 in real terms. Every region of the UK has experienced a decline in manufacturing employment. 

10. Northern Ireland lost 4.8% of manufacturing jobs between 2008 and 2018, the lowest of any region in the UK.

(GMB) 

Manufacturing automation job loss appears to have hit Northern Ireland the least of any region of the UK. Figures suggest that manufacturing job losses are currently running at 4.8% for the decade, meaning that the sector shed just 4,200 over ten years. 

11. British aerospace manufacturing has increased productivity by 30% in five years.

(The Manufacturer)

While many manufacturing sector UK statistics make for depressing reading, it is not all bad news. The aerospace industry has increased manufacturing productivity by nearly a third in response to high levels of foreign competition. Efforts like this may help reverse UK manufacturing decline. 

12. Scotland has lost 20.4% of its manufacturing jobs over the last ten years.

(GMB)

Manufacturing job loss statistics show that employment in the UK manufacturing industry has fallen consistently over the last decade. The effect, however, is even more pronounced in Scotland. Here, UK manufacturing sector statistics reveal that the country has lost slightly more than one-fifth of its manufacturing workforce in the last ten years, shedding more than 52,500 jobs. 

13. 170,000 people in the UK are employed in plastics production. 

(The Manufacturer)

While UK manufacturing decline statistics might be in full swing, the opposite is true of the plastics manufacturing industry. Recent data suggests employment in the sector has grown to 179,000 direct jobs and turns over more than a whopping £23.5 billion annually. It produces more than 1.7 million tonnes of plastic every year and recycles a further 3.3 million tonnes. 

14. Britain is the third-largest textile manufacturing employer in Europe, supporting 340,000 direct jobs.

(The Manufacturer)

Of all the workers in manufacturing in the UK, more than 340,000 are employed in the textile sector. The UK plays host to more than 79,000 textile companies which, collectively, generate more than £11.5 billion for the economy.