Investment, jobs and manufacturing fall to record lows
Government was faced yesterday with worrying statistics that revealed a year on year decline in turnover, investment and employment in manufacturing, while wages and salaries increased.
A National Statistics Office (NSO) sample survey among manufacturing enterprises released yesterday showed that during the fourth quarter last year, investment fell by 54.8 per cent to €16.8 million, on account of a general decline in investment in the major manufacturing sectors. Turnover of the sampled manufacturing enterprises fell by 1.6 per cent to €506.9 million when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
In the fourth quarter of 2009, a total of €73 million was paid out in gross wages and salaries, an increase of 4.1 per cent over the corresponding period in 2008.
This decline was mainly observed in the radio, TV and communication equipment (-11.2 per cent), the food and beverages (-15.5 per cent) and the chemicals and chemical products sectors (-8.6 per cent).
The NSO explained that this decline was partially mitigated by higher turnover in the electrical machinery and apparatus and the publishing and printing sectors, by 66.1 and 12.9 per cent respectively.
At the end of December, employment in the sampled enterprises declined by 5.5 per cent to 16,016 employees over the corresponding period in 2008. Lower employment levels were mainly recorded in the radio, TV and communication equipment sector (-23.5 per cent), the food and beverages sector (-5.5 per cent) and the rubber and plastic products sector (-5.9 per cent).
On the other hand, employment in the other transport equipment sector rose by 40.4 per cent when compared to December 2008.
