Tens of thousands of UK manufacturing jobs will be lost by the end of June because of a renewed downturn in the sector, a new report predicts.
Up to 86,000 posts could be axed in the first six months of the year, with firms in every region except Scotland warning of continued cutbacks.
The CBI said its survey of 937 companies showed the most rapid decline in jobs was expected in the North-West.
The new decline in manufacturing was being driven by a sharp deterioration in domestic demand as weak global trading conditions spread to the home market, the CBI said.
For the first time in over two years no region of the UK recorded an increase in orders for goods over the previous four months.
The worst declines in orders were in the North West, East Midlands and Eastern England.
Tuesday May 6 2003
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