The problems affecting factories across Britain probably led to 86,000 layoffs in the first quarter of this year, the Confederation of British Industry said this morning.
For the first time since June 2001 no region reported an increase in orders over the previous four months, the CBI said in its quarterly regional trends survey, which is based on data already released on the health of the manufacturing sector.
Looking ahead to the next four months, five of 11 regions expect factory orders to recover modestly, but that will not stem the job losses. Only Scotland expects existing staffing levels to remain at least steady.
While the survey warned that much of the weakness was a result of the uncertainty running up to the war on Iraq, it still called on policymakers to provide relief to manufacturers through lower borrowing costs.
'Waning domestic demand and economic uncertainty have dented confidence everywhere. The Bank of England must give the economy a boost with a rate cut on Thursday. There remains little danger from inflation,' said Doug Godden, CBI's head of economic analysis.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets later this week and many analysts expect another cut in rates, taking them to just 3.5%.
