Manufacturing: Key Economic Indicators

Manufacturing is one of the production industries, which also include mining, electricity, water & waste management and oil & gas extraction.

In April – June 2024, the manufacturing sector accounted for 8.8% of total UK economic output (Gross Value Added) and 7.0% of employment.

Manufacturing Output

Manufacturing output decreased by 1.0% between August and September 2024 following an increase of 1.3% between July and August.

Manufacturing output for the three months to September 2024 was 0.2% higher than in the three months to June 2024.

Output in the three months to September 2024 was 1.1% lower than output in the same period the previous year. Eight of the 13 subsectors saw decreases in output between August and September.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

In the S&P Global/CIPS PMI, a value of 50 means that there is no change compared to the previous month. Values above 50 indicate an expansion, and values below 50 a contraction.

The UK manufacturing PMI (PDF) in October 2024 was 49.9, down from 51.5 in September. This is the first time the PMI has fallen below the neutral mark of 50.0 since April. Although manufacturing output increased in October, the increase was slight, with reduced intakes of new work, owing to a lack of market optimism, slower economic growth, stretched supply chains and concerns about the impacts of possible announcements in the UK Budget.

This briefing is part of our Economic Indicators series. Visit the main Economic Indicators page to see data on other parts of the economy.