Chehsire East revealed as one of the biggest victims of recession (From Crewe Guardian)

Chehsire East revealed as one of the biggest victims of recession

11:50am Wednesday 1st February 2012 in News By Katie Durose

CHESHIRE East lost more manufacturing jobs since the recession started than any other borough in the North West, new figures revealed last week.

The GMB Union says workers employed in manufacturing has fallen by 17,700 from 36,500 in 2006/7 to 18,800 employed in 2010/11 - the biggest loss in the region.

Other areas that suffered big falls in manufacturing job losses include, Cumbria, 11,000; Lancashire, 9,700; and Manchester, with 9,400 losses.

In the UK as a whole the recession cost 706,300 manufacturing jobs, which is an average of 3,398 per week.

Paul McCarthy, GMB regional secretary said more needs to be done to encourage small and medium-size business if the UK is to recover.

He added: “The Downing Street led recession accelerated the haemorrhaging of jobs from UK manufacturing. In the UK as a whole the first four years of this recession has cost 706,300 manufacturing jobs. That is an average of 3,398 job losses a week.

“This fall is on top of the 1.25m fall between 1994/5 and 2006/7 an average 2005 job losses a week.

“Governments since Thatcher, from both parties, have ignored warning signs form GMB and others that this migration of manufacturing jobs is not sustainable.“The number of workers employed in the north west has fallen by 97,000 from 444,000 in 2006/7 to 347,000 in 2010/11.

“Urgent action on skills to deal with the skills shortages plague the UK. Germany has many more apprentices and a long-established dual vocational system which puts the country in a much better place than the UK.

“This “march of the makers” – two million of them in sixteen years – is the most tragic economic story from Britain in the last two decades.”