Manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy and more than 7.4 million jobs depend on it, according to new research commissioned by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA).

The study by economics consultancy Oxford Economics shows that the sector is responsible for 23% of UK GDP, well over double the figure that is routinely quoted, and accounts for 5 million more jobs than often thought.
“This report clearly demonstrates that anyone who says that manufacturing doesn’t matter to the UK economy is badly mistaken,” explains James Selka, CEO of the MTA. “The figures that people often quote setting manufacturing alongside the service sector miss the point that a huge part of the service sector – from logistics, to research, to catering – serves manufacturing. For every £1m the manufacturing sector contributes to GDP itself, it creates another £1.5m elsewhere in the UK economy.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk