In March 2015, new orders for the UK’s manufacturing sector continued to increase, largely as a result of national consumer demand and an improvement in the rate of exports to the United States, China, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and the Middle East.
Statistics released by financial bodies Markit and CIPS reveal that a figure of 54.4 – the highest seen for eight months – was recorded for the UK’s manufacturing PMI in March, up 0.4 from February.
However, in another recent report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), economic productivity was shown to have fallen by 0.2 per cent in the last three months of 2014.
The ONS said: “These estimates show that the absence of productivity growth in the seven years since 2007 is unprecedented in the post-war period.”
While workers produced less than they did in 2007, any PMI figure over 50 indicates growth, meaning that the economy is still heading in the right direction.
March’s production output for consumer goods grew at the fastest rate for almost a year, driven by a higher level of disposable income in the average household, which has been made possible by low inflation and wage increases across the country.
Output per worker also grew by 0.3 per cent; however, because this was mostly thanks to an increase in hours worked, and the actual output per hour decreased by 0.2 per cent, experts have expressed fears that worker productivity might be a cause for concern in the long-term future.