Thriving or Surviving? The Manufacturing Sector Health Check

Enginuity’s monthly Manufacturing Sector Health Check pulls together the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data to track the performance of UK manufacturing, covering GDP, jobs, pay, exports, and production.

The latest figures from the ONS are in, and a variety of external factors may have impacted the outlook for July 2025. The question: are we thriving, or surviving?

GDP (for May 2025)

Following upward revisions for GDP in March and April, manufacturing GDP for May has dropped one point, to 100.60 – UK GDP as a whole dropped 0.1 points.

This drop for manufacturing in May represents the largest recorded decline since July 2024.

The sectors with the largest decline in GDP for May were mining and quarrying (-3.16); and art, entertainment and recreation (-3.15).

The largest-growing manufacturing sub-sectors were manufacture of machinery and equipment (3.4), and manufacture of textiles (1.6).

The sub-sectors of manufacturing demonstrating the most decline were manufacturing of leather and related products (-4.86%), and manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (-4.2%). This follows respective growth in April 2025 of 5.9% and 5.4%.

Employment and Vacancies (for June 2025)

The number of paid employees in the manufacturing sector fell by 5,500, which represents a decline of 0.24%. By comparison, the UK lost 41,000 paid employees, a drop of 0.14%.

There was an increase of 1,000 vacancies for the manufacturing sector, a 2.1% increase on last month – whereas the UK experienced a 1.5% decrease, or 22,000 vacancies.

Year on year, there has been a drop of almost a quarter (23.5%) in manufacturing vacancies, compared to a 16.3% decline for all sectors.

Wages and Payroll (for May 2025)

May saw a modest rise in manufacturing pay, increasing by 0.14% to £3,616, while the UK saw a 0.18% increase to £3,334.

Aggregate pay in the UK rose 0.1% to £101.03bn, while the manufacturing sector saw a 0.18% increase to £8.39bn.

Exports and Production (for May 2025)

Exports rallied in May somewhat with an increase of 3.95%, following a drop of 5.88% in April.

The manufacturing sub-sectors with the largest export growth this month were:

Repair and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft (29.16%)
Repair and maintenance of ships and boats (26.11%)

The sub-sectors of manufacturing with the largest export decline for May were:

Cement, line, plaster and articles of concrete, cement and plaster (-30%)
Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, fruit and vegetables (-21.84%)

UK Production Values (for May 2025)

The largest growth in production value this month came from:

Manufacture of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products (7.75%)
Grain mill products, starches and starch products (5.09%)

The largest decrease in production value came from:

Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (-21.07%)
Building of ships and boats (-13.86%)

Our take on this month’s figures

While the manufacturing sector remains robust, it has seen a significant negative impact in April/May. This is believed to be due to factors such as the NIC increase and trade tariffs.

In a number of sub-sectors, the drop in exports has been offset by increases in domestic orders. Manufacturing in particular remains an attractive sector to work in, with higher than average monthly salaries and salary increases.

At Enginuity, we know that timely insights and accurate data are vital to driving change. By providing these updates, we aim to help employers, educators, and policymakers make informed decisions, ensuring skills, innovation, and opportunity stay aligned with the sector’s evolving needs.